


Omega's Strength

by Texan_Red_Rose



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Relationships, Bad Decisions, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Healing, Injury Recovery, Knotting, M/M, Mating Bites, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Character Death, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Verse, Other, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-05-13 12:09:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 127,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14748590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Texan_Red_Rose/pseuds/Texan_Red_Rose
Summary: Yang Xiao Long lost a lot during the Fall of Beacon. Trying to gain it all back in the midst of a war for the fate of Remnant is a long and hard road, especially with an Alpha around who makes things better and worse in turns. But she's always been the sort to get knocked down and stand up again, stronger than before. It's just never hurt like this.





	1. Hot and Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> … okay, yes, okay, I get it, there’s a lot of problems with the Omegaverse in general, but this is my AU, and I’m playing by my own rules. So the A/B/O dynamics will be a bit different here than in most Omegaverse fics. This is also going to be a rough rollercoaster, so get ready for angst and a lot of it, plus some drama and action and lord knows what else. Yang’s gonna go through hell, but she’s going to come out stronger than ever. That’s just who she is.
> 
> Also, I started writing this right around the beginning of V4, and because I don’t wanna play the guessing game with canon, I’m keeping my own continuity. While most of V5 events happened, little details are changed and addressed in the fic. Hold onto something.

Yang grit her teeth and growled, fighting to keep control of her baser instincts. It wasn’t fair, how frustrated she felt, her temperature rising for a reason completely unrelated to the heat of battle or her anger. The latter certainly wasn’t helping, though, because she  _did_  feel an unusual amount of animosity for the circumstances, but they couldn’t be helped. For nearly a year, her body had simply been too busy healing, reeling from the loss of her arm and the emotional turmoil of her nightmares to even consider bending to natural inclination. She’d taken it as a sign- a foolish decision, she realized all too late- that she was removing herself from the equation.

Who would want her as a mate, anyway? It would be entirely different if she was an Alpha; she would then have the opportunity to prove herself, show that the loss of a limb didn’t preclude her from being a strong partner. It wouldn’t work on everyone, of course, but she theoretically  _could_  do something that would catch another’s interest. Even as a Beta, she had the option; there were some who didn’t favor the natural inclinations of both Alphas or Omegas and sought out Betas specifically. They were few and far between, but they existed.

That wasn’t her fate, though. For all her brash taunting and in-your-face brawling, Yang was an Omega through and through, susceptible to the very displays she so often replicated in a cruel twist of fate. It was easier to avoid while she was in school- Beacon, just like most combat schools, required students to take suppressants during the academic year to prevent any foolish choices- but between the Fall of Beacon and her own injury and recovery, she hadn’t given her heat much thought. Omegas were supposed to be the supportive type, the caring ones, those willing to fight until the bitter end in defense of family. The Omega was the last line of defense, and the most terrifying to face by all accounts, willing to throw themselves headlong into a losing fight for the sake of their offspring, or their mate, or whoever else they deemed worthy. Alphas were as strong as they wanted to be but an Omega’s sheer tenacity would win the day each and every time.

But not her. Not anymore.

The blonde growled again, turning away from the window to go sit in the small bundle of blankets she’d acquired from the airship’s various empty bunks. Her first time aboard an Atlesian military transport- the sort designed to accommodate its crew for months, even years at a time- and she’d learned all the nooks and crannies fairly easily. She hadn’t thought as to  _why_ it interested her until she felt the change, the subtle shift in her perception that brought scents to the forefront of her conscious mind more effectively than words. Despite all reason stating otherwise, her body seemed to think she’d recovered enough to weather the effects of her heat, and she’d quickly sought out a rarely used storage compartment on the lower deck to isolate herself from the others.

_Why_ she felt compelled to do so eluded her. Ever since reuniting with her team, they’d been on the run from one battlefield to another, and that didn’t provide much time to make new friends. The stolen aircraft housed no one entirely unfamiliar to her at present, no new faces to believe she could still be an adequate mate despite the hunk of metal now taking the place of her lost arm, and the majority of them clearly had preferences of their own. Ren and Nora were a beta match made in what would be Heaven if not for the circumstances surrounding their meeting. Jaune was an Omega and Ruby her sister, plus a Beta besides, and she wouldn’t be nearly as easily swayed by scent alone as Weiss. However, the Alpha certainly didn’t have eyes for Yang, if those increasing furtive looks directed at Blake were any indication and her fellow Omega seemed rather keen on letting her look, at the very least. There was still mud in the waters, something that made the the Faunus hesitate, but they were spending more and more nights talking quietly on the ship’s bridge while one or the other took a turn at piloting. She was happy for Blake, but also a little jealous.

Aside from her friends and teammates, their allies numbered very few. Their former teachers- Goodwitch, Port, Oobleck- had joined them as well, but the trio had left the airship to meet with General Ironwood in the nearest town while the rest stayed with their transport, hidden among the Atlesian mountains. They’d taken Oscar with them, which was for the best, though he was too young anyway. She still hadn’t entirely accepted the idea that this kid somehow possessed the same… consciousness? Soul? Aura? All of the above?- as their former headmaster, but Ruby vouched for him, and that was all that mattered. 

Then there was Winter, their de facto pilot and Weiss’ older sister. She’d seen the woman, briefly, during the ill fated Vytal festival, but the recent upheaval in Remnant’s power balance had pushed the strict military woman to abandon her post and side with her sister. An Alpha, like Weiss, with sharp blue eyes and a crisp manner of speaking that made the younger one look lax in comparison, but she at least had a soldier’s sense of humor.

The blonde sat down among the blankets, pushing her back against the bulkhead and crossing her arms over her drawn up knees. She cursed herself for perhaps the hundredth time, wishing that they were doing something other than sitting around and waiting, that she  _could_ do something at all that wouldn’t immediately compromise half their group’s focus. If Blake had been the first to feel the sway of heat creeping up on her, it would’ve been different; although they didn’t have access to Beacon’s supply of suppressants, the Faunus had brought remedies from Menagerie that served the same purpose and didn’t require planning to stop the natural uptick in hormones. As long as they were taken more than two days before the start of an Omega’s heat, it could be avoided entirely. Yang, on the other hand, just chalked up the increase in her temperature and irritability to a bad night of sleep, not realizing until it was already too late that she was reacting to the scents invading her space. She didn’t want a mate and found herself baring her teeth at even her sister, trying to drive the others away until she retreated herself, not that anyone was even remotely inclined towards her anyway.

Leaning her head back until it hit the metal of the bulkhead with a dull thunk, Yang closed her eyes while her blunt fingernails tried to dig into the metal of her prosthetic. Even in her head, she couldn’t lie to herself like that; she  _wanted_ a mate. Not just in heat emphasized desire; she wanted an Alpha, a partner to lean against for support, someone to care- she wanted to feel a little less  _useless_. And it wasn’t like no one had caught her eye…

The sound of the door opening had her jumping up, instantly taking an aggressive stance with her hands up, balled into fists, and baring her teeth, ready to fight. It probably wasn’t warranted- most likely not, really- but she reacted the moment her space was invaded and felt entirely validated when the sting of an Alpha’s scent hit her nose.

“Easy, Yang,” Winter said, her tone measured and even as she took a single step inside the space. Despite being officially declared absent without leave by the Atlesian military, she still wore her uniform, saying something about comfort and ease of movement. However, she  _had_ taken to wearing her hair down from its tight bun, perhaps as a sign that she was truly one of the renegades currently doing their best to wage a secret war against Salem and her pawns, but the sight irritated Yang more than she’d care to admit. Not because she didn’t look good without it down, of course; to the contrary, it gave her face just enough softness to compliment the sharp edge in her eyes. “Here.”

The blonde kept her back to the outside wall but caught the bag thrown her way fairly easily. It wasn’t too heavy but she couldn’t quite tell what was in it and didn’t dare look, at least not yet. “What is it?”

“Food, and something to occupy yourself with in the meantime.” If she was offended by Yang’s refusal to lower her guard, she didn’t look it in the slightest. “It’s not much, but our stocks are rather low.”

“It’s fine,” she replied, allowing the bag to drop to the floor. “How’s everyone else?”

“Blake and Jaune have isolated themselves as well.” Winter clasped her hands behind her back, shoulders straight as she spoke- the same posture Weiss used when she was trying to hide her opinion while relaying information, but honed to perfection through military discipline. “Neither have started their cycle nor are they likely to, but they thought it might be for the best.”

It would be, really; to an Omega in heat, others were either threats, unwanted competition, potential mates, or off limits- by bond or otherwise. Very few things could override an Omega’s heat and a claim already staked made weathering their presence markedly more bearable and the duties of caring for Omegas usually fell to those unable to be swayed. Unfortunately, they had no such individuals among their tiny group, save Ruby, and she couldn’t possibly be everywhere at once. “Okay.”

“Ren and Nora have volunteered to keep an eye on Jaune for the next few days; Blake isn’t entirely certain her homeland remedies have no ill effects on humans, so we’re playing it safe.” Yang started to pace, nervous energy motivating her to move around. The Alpha didn’t watch, keeping her eyes trained on some spot in the distance, appearing to look through the window but seeing nothing of the forest and mountains beyond. “Your sister will be staying close to Blake, in case her cycle starts, while Weiss has watch until everything passes.”

“Just leaves you, huh?” She wanted to be angry,  _furious_ even that an Alpha could stand in the same room as her and not even look at her, could ignore her so totally, but that was what she wanted, right? That’s why she separated herself in the first place, sought out an isolated location; they were on the run and fighting a relentless enemy, relying on covert operations and subterfuge more than the blonde would ever use herself. Now wasn’t the time to pretend like she could be bonded to a mate, let alone allow such circumstances to arrange themselves, yet here she stood, watching to see if those cold blue eyes would even glance her way.

Who was she kidding?

“I thought it would be prudent,” Winter said, calm as ever. “Out of everyone available, I think I have the most experience fighting you, if it comes down to that.”

The blonde rolled her eyes. In what time they could scrounge up between battles, they trained- all of them. Side-by-side to build cohesion, to find news ways of moving and attacking that Salem’s goons wouldn’t be ready for, but they also faced off against each other when hard light opponents made things too easy. Combat drills brought with them a small amount of fond familiarity as they recalled their brief time at Beacon, becoming teammates, partners, and training for the tournament.

However, it wasn’t like old times. With her prosthetic, her fighting style changed; metal reacted differently to Ember Celica than her aura infused flesh did, and she had to compensate. Relearn a style that seemed ingrained in her very blood, and rather than make her weaker it did the opposite. She could press Goodwitch a fair deal more than she ever imagined possible after seeing the woman in action herself, but the other woman wasn’t wrong. Something about fighting the elder Schnee made landing a solid hit nearly impossible and they’d fought to a stand still more times than anyone could count.

She hadn’t quite decided how to feel about that, yet, but it did make her look forward to their face offs more than anyone else she got pit against. Unfortunately, it all meant nothing in the end.

“No need to worry about me.” She spat out, bitterness coloring her tone. “I know damn well there’s no reason to leave; I’m just not mate material anymore.”

Her gaze fell to her prosthetic for a moment before she turned, the bag in hand and returning to her little nest of blankets. She had the urge to rearrange them, make it more comfortable, but she didn’t care and no one else would. What was the point?

_Why am I doing this to myself?_

Yang sat down, leaning against the bulkhead again and opening up the bag to see what awful military ration the woman had found for her. The damn things tasted horrible and no amount of water could take away the dryness that settled in her throat whenever she ate them, but at least the bag had four full bottles to try and assuage that. It was a thoughtful gesture, at least, and she glanced towards the door, half surprised to see Winter still standing there. She’d thought the Alpha would take the first sign that she was free to go as a dismissal; even if an Alpha had no interest in an Omega, pheromones were powerful drugs and it would become uncomfortable staying in the presence of an undesirable mate for too long.

But those blue eyes were watching her, finally, cool as ever, and Winter had perhaps the best poker face in all of Remnant, jaw set firmly in either annoyance, determination, anger, or whatever else had hold of the woman. Yang would probably never be privy to exactly what.

“You shouldn’t say that about yourself.” Winter turned, stepping back out of the room briskly. “Lying is not a particularly desirable trait.”

The door closed before the blonde could process the words, her brow furrowing in annoyance.

“Well… who asked you, anyway.” She grumbled, ripping open the freeze dried ration and busying herself with eating.

* * *

Time stretched and thinned, minutes passing like hours and chaffing at her patience. Yang had tried busying herself with the handheld game Winter brought- strange, she thought, that the woman even knew she favored such idle distractions, but it was probably Ruby’s suggestion- but found herself stuck between difficulties, finding ‘normal’ to be too easy and 'hard’ too much frustration, so she put it aside and instead turned her attention to the scroll, which had a few files saved to the hard drive. A documentary on the history of Vale, a fanciful tale about a Sheriff facing off against a local crime lord, and a full season of a cartoon show- all of which as far from war and fighting as they were from love and lust, which she appreciated. However, it just soured her mood in the end, because wouldn’t it be nice to have someone so thoughtful who  _wasn’t_  doing it out of duty or necessity?

She couldn’t get out of her own head. Yang had spent  _months_  confined to a bed, either by injury or lack of motivation to move, and she’d become intimately familiar with the demons lurking just behind her eyelids. Sleep wouldn’t help, food wouldn’t help, distraction wouldn’t help- she needed movement, the dull drone of a battle’s rhythm to drown everything out, but she was hardly in any condition to fight before. Plus, she wasn’t inclined to leave the room, driven by instinct to move things around to make it more comfortable. There was something missing, though, and the name of it eluded her rather well until the pressure in her bladder stole her attention away.

“Fuck,” she said, glaring at the door. She’d picked the storage room because it would keep her away from the others and no one would have an excuse to enter it; she’d considered the practical concerns as secondary interests, considering she could always just use the bathroom down the hall, a short distance away easily covered and no one had an excuse to be in the lower deck long enough for their scent to linger anyway.

Now, however, she had to deal with Winter potentially hovering close by, waiting to be called upon, but perhaps the woman had taken the hint from earlier. Maybe she would just check in on the blonde every now and then, leaving her to her devices for the duration of her heat. Either way, it didn’t matter much; Yang had to leave the room and contend with whatever awaited her just outside the door. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too aggravating.

Palming the door open, the Omega stepped out into the hall and looked around. The hallway was empty but she caught Winter’s scent lingering, like the sharp bite of fresh snow mixed with the tang of metal on the back of her tongue. Against her better judgement, she stopped and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. She was a little jealous, really; whichever Omega- or Alpha or Beta, though she didn’t think the woman was so inclined- happened to catch her attention would have a strong mate, one thoroughly dedicated to whichever task she had before her and fully intent on completing it no matter the cost. Aside from her sister, not many Alphas would dare to challenge her, either, too easily cowed by her presence, and it was only her respect for Ruby and Goodwitch that kept Winter from taking charge of their motley crew. If push came to shove, it was more likely they’d all bare their throats to her rather than press an issue, but it hadn’t come to that. Yet.

Shaking her head, the blonde turned to head down the hallway, shoulders rising as the tension in her back started drawing tight. She was heading towards the bathroom with the express intention of utilizing it, but she noticed Winter’s scent getting stronger as she walked. Wherever the Alpha was, she was close or had been recently, and the idea of confronting her again did nothing but agitate Yang even further.

She had her hand on the door pad, ready to key it open when the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, suddenly aware she was being watched closely. Turning her head, the blonde caught sight of the Alpha, sitting at the bottom of a staircase leading up to the next deck. Winter had her arms crossed over her chest, legs crossed at the knee, and those cold blue eyes met hers easily, no discernible change in her expression or posture as they locked gazes, though the scent stinging her nose did intensify.

They didn’t say anything. It occurred to Yang to string some words together, but she couldn’t be sure if they come out as an insult or an invitation, so she kept her jaw clenched to keep either from escaping. The Alpha seemed relaxed- at least, her version of relaxing; the woman hardly ever seemed at ease the way everyone else did, always with a straight back and her chin tilted up- and that should’ve bothered her at least a little, that she could be so composed when in proximity to an Omega about to go into heat.

But she shouldn’t be surprised.

With a frustrated growl, she pushed into the restroom, determined to take care of her business and return to the storage room without sparing the woman another glance. It took a significant amount of will to ignore the niggling thought that, were Winter to follow her, she might be a bit too reluctant at discouraging her to be effective.

Not that she would, of course.

After washing her hands- and splashing cold water on her face to try and bring her temperature down, or at least provide the illusion of comfort- Yang exited and immediately turned away from the stairs, only to be halted by the woman’s voice.

“Wait.” She turned her head enough to look over her shoulder, noting the Alpha still hadn’t moved. “There’s another room that might be more… comfortable for you to use.”

Yang grit her teeth, at once inclined to object on pure principle but reining it in before the words could leave her mouth. The woman hadn’t made any overt attempts to invade her space, so she didn’t have much reason to take the offer as a sign of anything but genuine concern. “What makes it 'comfortable’, exactly?”

“A connected latrine, for one,” Winter said, a touch of amusement in the words. “And a proper bed for another.”

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion; she’d checked every part of the ship several times and hadn’t found a suitable room like that. “Where?”

“Down the hall.” The Alpha tilted her head to the right. “It’s the Chief Engineer’s quarters.”

Part of her objected fiercely- she’d made her choice- but even she had to admit that the promise of both a bathroom that would keep her just that little distance further from anyone else and a real bed might be worth it. Yang reluctantly made a motion with her hand, opting to at least take a look. “Lead the way.”

Lilac eyes watched as the woman stood, the motion only marginally less smooth than usual. It was difficult to discern what caused the tension in her frame, her posture ramrod straight as ever but shoulders raised in an uneven line, not quite a hunch but close. If she felt any discomfort, however, she made no mention of it, striding down the hallway with the blonde following at a slight distance. Getting close would tempt her, persuade her to at least try and catch the Alpha’s attention- a useless endeavor at best. She needed to keep her head clear, pointlessly scrubbing at her nose to dislodge Winter’s scent.

“Here.” The third door down the hall, dead center between the two staircases leading to the upper deck. Now she understood why she hadn’t already checked it; previously, the keypad was locked, barring everyone from entry. However, with a quick press of a button, the door opened without complaint and the woman stepped aside, allowing Yang to look for herself.

It was… sparse. A twin sized bed, a footlocker, a dresser, a desk- standard issue for the Atlesian military, and rather clean despite the disuse. She took a few steps inside and inhaled deeply; Winter’s scent lingered but it wasn’t prevalent enough to put her off the idea. The bathroom off to her right, a small closet to her left, and more than enough room to pace made the quarters a relatively decent alternative to the area she claimed as hers. The only downside being-

“None of the officer quarters have windows,” Winter said, apparently interpreting the blonde’s stare at the far wall correctly. “There are some enlisted quarters that do, and have a bathroom, but they’re on the upper decks. Also, this one locks from the inside.”

Yang wrinkled her nose, letting out a gruff sigh. “Fine. I can move here. I’ll just-”

“Let me grab your things.” The Alpha raised her hands in a placating gesture. “You should start getting comfortable. It’ll only take a few moments.”

She narrowed her eyes, tempted to argue for the sake of conflict, the corners of her mouth preparing to pull into a snarl. The woman was just being pragmatic, picking the route that would have Yang settled in the shortest amount of time, probably so she could relieve herself of babysitting duties and be done with it. The blonde turned her back to the door to hide her scowl. “Whatever.”

That could’ve been a dangerous move, turning her back on an Alpha like that. It would usually be taken as an invitation, or a taunt, but she didn’t think the other woman would take it as such. If she cared enough to register the action at all, Winter would probably take it at face value- her frustration and instincts motivating her to start rearranging the sparse furniture to her liking, since she wouldn’t be leaving the room again. The door sliding closed confirmed that.

She scanned the room, noting that everything seemed… off, compared to all the other ones she’d been inside on the ship. It took her a moment to place it but then it registered; everything had been moved, and fairly recently. Nothing was pushed against the wall except for the bed; everything was just sitting out at odd angles in the middle of the room, though the pattern seemed a bit familiar.

It took until Winter returned, setting the bag and the amassed blankets just inside the door before retreating again, for the reason to strike her- the configuration matched the storage room as it was when the Alpha had checked on her that first time. Maybe a little off, but a damn good replication, all things considered.

Of course, she’d changed everything around at least twenty times since then, so she tried not to think about it too hard as she went about moving everything.

* * *

Bedding down in the Chief Engineer quarters took a while and she begrudgingly admitted to herself that she rather liked the distraction. Aside from moving the furniture six more times before being satisfied- how long it would last remained a mystery, but she’d gone a good thirty minutes so far without adjusting anything- the blonde had sat in various spots in the room, idly rubbing her hands along the walls or sprawling across the floor, anything to ensure her scent would linger. She could hardly remember the last time she’d actually gone into heat; usually, the suppressants kept her from feeling anything other than a little spike in her sex drive, and the few times she actually endured the torture were for the learning experience. It would do absolutely no one any favors if the first time she fell under the sway of her natural inclinations also happened to be when she wanted to attract a suitable mate; that screamed 'disaster’ with a bullhorn hooked up to an amp.

First came the nesting, arranging and rearranging until she couldn’t be bothered with it anymore, all while her temperature spiked and she became intensely aware of every other scent hanging in the air. Despite the decks separating them, the entire ship had a centralized temperature control, so while the others’ scents were muted through dispersal, she could still pick them out. Jaune, Ren, and Nora were all faint, and aside from the general sensation of uneasiness, they seemed rather normal. They weren’t reacting to her overtly, at the very least, and she felt the same in kind. Weiss, Ruby, and Blake were slightly stronger, enough for her to pick out her sister’s exasperation and her teammates’ frustration, something else she couldn’t name niggling at the back of her mind. It seemed duty and desire were at war for both of them, each inclined to try mating despite the narrowly avoided heat cycle. She wouldn’t put it past them; those two had always challenged each other, fighting at first out of deep rooted mistrust and then in a series of displays, the smaller of the two trying to assert herself as a capable Alpha while the Faunus proved herself a strong Omega. They could match each other mentally step-for-step and it seemed they were likely to try physically as well, perhaps once this whole Salem business was finished. Ruby, poor kid, seemed to be faced with either standing between them- heat increased the chance of a mating resulting in pregnancy, true, but it wasn’t the only time an Omega could conceive- and letting the two have at it. Any reduction in the sexual tension on their team would be a welcomed relief to the younger woman.

So that only left Winter, whose scent remained strongest, likely due to proximity. Apparently, after hearing the locking mechanism engage- the directions were relayed through the door, for whatever reason, not that she was complaining quite- she hadn’t retreated to the bridge like the blonde thought she would. Instead, the Alpha seemed to be lingering, either in one of the stairwells or somewhere close, still on the lower deck at the very least. In her scent, Yang could taste the tang of frustration, annoyance, and arousal, but very little else. It must be driving her mad, being stuck watching over a pathetic Omega with no hopes of finding a mate now or in the near future. That had to be like guarding a bank with no money- just a waste of time.

She was jolted out of her indulgence by three harsh raps on the door, followed by the woman’s voice. “I brought you a hot meal. Ruby thought it might help.”

That sounded like her sister alright; if cookies couldn’t fix it, a homecooked meal or a well placed round could. Leaving her little nest of blankets, Yang went over to the door and unlocked it, bracing herself for what she would find on the other side. The moment the door opened, Winter’s scent hit her full force, and it took conscious effort not to lean forward.

After all, even if the woman tended to be a bit more strict than Yang would’ve thought she could tolerate, the Alpha could be a very good mate. She was strong, smart, cunning, with a temper just like hers and a bit sharper when it came to bear, and those uniforms certainly didn’t do her figure a disservice. They’d pit their strengths against each other often enough for the blonde to have a pretty good read on the woman; she didn’t take pot shots, didn’t play dirty, but she would use any advantage possible to gain victory. But, she could be caring too, and empathetic, and surprisingly gentle despite the hard look in her eyes, and- she was just digging herself a bigger hole.

Snapping out of her daze, Yang accepted the covered tray the Alpha held, slightly surprised she could stand to be so close. The Omega had to be broadcasting like crazy, a product of her time drawing shorter until her heat started and from drowning the whole room in her scent earlier. Yet, here Winter stood, solid as stone.

“Thanks.” She grumbled, reaching over to engage the lock again.

“Wait.” Reaching into her jacket, the woman produced a chilled can of soda with a small smile. “This one’s your favorite, correct?”

“Uh, yeah…” Licking her lips, Yang reached out and grabbed the offering. “I should probably only drink water, though.”

“A little treat can’t hurt.” A ghost of a smile flickered across Winter’s lips before she became serious once again. “If you require anything, let me know. It… seems like it won’t be much longer now.”

“Right.” Nodding, the Omega backed up a few steps, setting the can down on the relocated dresser before returning to close the door. “Thanks. Again.”

“It’s my honor.”

The door separated them before she could parse the words, brow furrowing in confusion a tad. While the Schnees in general were partial to sarcastic humor and insincere comments, those words seemed entirely genuine.

More to the point, she believed them. The woman could be as quick to anger as Yang and had a silver edged tongue, but her sincerity always stood as a stark contrast to her military demeanor. It came across most evidently in her interactions with Weiss, the two bonding as sisters who’d abandoned their family name, but she’d thought she earned the same treatment a time or two. Winter laughed at her puns and jokes- and not in derision or sarcasm, either- and though she didn’t tell them as often as before, when she was whole, the Omega had fallen into the habit again now that she had an audience who seemed to appreciate her sense of humor. Their battles also served as something to look forward to, watching the Alpha shift from the rapt attentiveness she paid the agreements prior to the start of any bout to razor sharp aggression when she fought and then to earnest concern when they’d called a halt. That last part wasn’t present the first few times, the aloof soldier playing her part out of habit, but she’d adapted quickly to the less formal air that perpetually hung over the majority of the group.

She smiled more often now and Yang had thought, a time or two, that the ones directed at her meant something, just like the one she’d worn when presenting the can of soda. But maybe it was just her imagination or misguided hope.

Either way, she had a plate of Ruby’s cooking and she’d need all her strength to get through the next few days. No point in dwelling on nothing.

* * *

With a full belly and a warm nest of blankets, Yang managed to drift off into an uneasy sleep for a few hours. When she awoke, though, it was under the haze of the beginning of her heat, warmth blossoming between her legs as an itch she couldn’t scratch started its assault on her senses. Want and need coursed through her- the former rooted in an innate desire to find a mate, someone she could depend on, and the latter in pure instinct driven lust. She pressed her thighs together and curled into a ball, gritting her teeth as she tried to control her breathing through her mouth and focus on other things. It would only be a few days of enduring it all before it passed but she knew from experience that they would feel like the longest days of her life, least of all because she had the scent of a strong, capable mate stinging at her nose, begging her to try, at least try- but no. She couldn’t, for a myriad of reasons, the top two being their precarious position in the middle of a secret war and the obvious problem of not being desired, but her body didn’t seem to count either as important enough to lessen the urges coursing through her.

She had to be strong, though. The Omega had weathered her heat before and now would be no different; she couldn’t simply bend to the ill begotten logic of her heat addled mind and she wouldn’t. Yang had fought long and hard and, while this battle would be waged a little different, the rules would be the same. Take everything and endure, wait for the right opening and attack, and as long as she kept hold to some semblance of sanity, she would be alright.

But that didn’t stop the whimpers falling from her lips with each hot stab of desire, her entire body making the full conversation to a state of uncontrollable heat. Her nipples felt more sensitive, growing hard beneath her shirt, and she could already feel wetness gathering between her legs, making her undergarments feel highly uncomfortable. That was always how it started, coupled with her rising temperature as a subconscious alert to begin shedding her clothes, but she knew that losing every layer wouldn’t make the sensations abate. It would just be a steady line of increasing aggravation until the last day, when her body would realize she wouldn’t be mating with anyone and give up on driving her insane. Until then, she would have to content herself with her breasts becoming more sensitive, her folds becoming soaked with arousal, and her body yearning for a foreign touch.

Curling tighter around herself, Yang tried to will herself back to sleep, knowing it would be fitful at best and useless at worst.

Still, she tried.

* * *

The next time she regained consciousness, it was by snapping awake after a vivid dream. She couldn’t claim to be surprised- with her body in turmoil, of course her subconscious would dredge up something to try and assuage the sensations, give her a taste of what could potentially be reality- but this one had struck a nerve, sending her heart pounding in her chest. Before, she had no idea of what suitable mate would even look like, who would catch her attention in the years to come, and she found any and all dreams to include a partner drenched in shadows with a shifting form, only able to parse the feeling of impending completion that was actually entirely out of her reach.

Now, though, she had a face and a voice to give her fantasy partner, and it made her burn hotter in both desire and anger. What was the point of putting herself through this misery? She wouldn’t be found a suitable mate, yet here her body was trying to convince her otherwise and making a bad situation even worse. With her unfocused mind trying to grasp onto something solid to ease herself, she reacted out of a habit she’d yet to break and made her first mistake. Yang reached down with her right hand, hoping to press against the junction between her legs and give herself some much needed friction. It wouldn’t give her relief, wouldn’t make weathering the sensations any easier, but it would give her an illusion of peace for a time, trick her body into thinking she could reach the plateau of her climax.

However, the metal of her artificial limb didn’t have the same give as flesh and she immediately cried out in surprised agony as she pressed too hard against the stiff bud of her clitoris, pain overriding lust for a brief moment.

“Yang? Are you alright?” Winter’s voice came through the door instantly, sending two distinct messages to her brain: the first being to say no and force the woman to break down the door, see if the Alpha would come in to check on her, and the second reminding her that, even if she did, relief would not be any closer.

“I’m fine.” She growled out, reaching up to the line between flesh and metal to mash on the buttons, releasing her prosthetic from its anchor. Out of pure frustration, she threw it away from herself, both to keep from rolling over onto the blasted thing and out of disgust.

She wasn’t even a whole person anymore, not really, so how could she even begin to compete as a mate? She’d tried defending Blake and proven herself weak, unfit to be a protector of those closest to her. No Alpha would choose  _her_. Especially not a capable one, like the woman standing on the other side of the door and being difficult.

“You don’t sound fine.” Her voice seemed strained, tense, and what a bitter irony that she  _finally_  managed to pull a reaction, that maybe her scent was beginning to have an effect. But she knew better; it was just frustration with not knowing what was going on within the room. Winter had put herself in charge of watching over the Omega and she was just as much a perfectionist as her sister. It was more likely that she didn’t appreciate the potential of a failed mission than any susceptibility to Yang’s scent on her part.

“Just leave me alone!” She hated this; it felt like the first time she woke up without her arm all over again. The helplessness, the sense that she would never be whole again, the loss and pain just as fresh as ever, and to top it all off, she had to face the reality: this would be any and all future heats for the rest of her life. Spent alone, lost to the mental and physical anguish of never being enough.

It wasn’t uncommon to cry during heat. The demands of hormones and instincts could be overwhelming for Omegas, especially those in close proximity to others. Previously, she hadn’t succumb to the inclination until the last day, and it usually bled into relief by the time that last barrier broke down.

But that was before, when she at least had a chance. When her future was full of hope. Now, that was dashed entirely, and she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks before she could think to stop them, a sob wrenching from her chest as she curled in on herself again. With her left hand, she made a feeble grab at the blankets, drawing them tighter around herself and trying to ignore all the aches- the emptiness between her legs, the sudden weightlessness on her right shoulder, the pain in her chest from facing facts, but she couldn’t seem to find any sort of respite whatsoever.

“Yang… I can’t pretend I know what you’re going through, but you’ll make it through this.” She heard a thump, like the woman had banged her fist against the door. “You’re strong and this is temporary.”

“No, I’m not,” she said, but the words were soft, buried under the thickness in her voice as the tears continued.

“If there’s anything you want, anything to make this easier for you, please, tell me.”

Turning her head enough so she could speak clearly, she raised her voice. “Just let me sleep.”

Silence followed, then some shuffling and the lessening strength of the woman’s scent. She could taste it on the back of her tongue but didn’t dare breathe it in through her nose; aside from the mucus thankfully blocking her ability to properly smell, she didn’t want to know just how much Winter’s opinion of her had changed.

She was a fool for even entertaining it.

Thankfully, between the crying and the brief panic of hurting herself on accident sapping her strength, she managed to fall back asleep.

* * *

It continued like that for a while, a cycle of fitful sleeping and nigh mindless desire. She eventually succumbed to the need for friction again, pressing the fingers of her left hand against the fabric of her pants and grinding against them. It was a poor substitute for proper stimulation but she’d already found out the hard way that touching herself wouldn’t bring the satisfaction she craved. All it would do, in the end, was make her even more desperate, and she felt caught between just giving into a moment’s respite from the ache and staving off to save herself more trouble in the long run. That was when she made her second mistake, somehow thinking that torturing herself further might work as a suitable distraction. She sniffled at first, clearing her sinuses before inhaling deeply through her nose.

Winter’s scent hit her  _hard_. Where before it had seemed like equal parts of frustration and annoyance, now the predominant emotion in her scent seemed to be something akin to… panic, or worry, something intense and distressing that called to the Omega’s base instincts. As a mate, she could soothe her, comfort her, perhaps help- but, no, she couldn’t, she needed to stop thinking about that. Yang grit her teeth but didn’t stop breathing in, trying to discern what else the Alpha was feeling, if there was an obvious cause. The best she could tell, the woman was making a profound statement that other Alphas should avoid her at all cost, that her space was not to be invaded in any way, shape, or form, despite the lack of people who would even be capable or willing to do so aboard the ship. Still, it seemed an odd stance to take and completely unnecessary besides.

All the while, she had to fight down the irrational voice in the back of her mind screaming for her to go to the door, to seek out the Alpha and ensure she was alright. It was just her heat addled mind trying to justify an attempt at courting the woman, trying to entice her with the unrealistic idea that Winter would be so easily swayed.

Yang should’ve known better, should’ve realized after their first sparring match that she was more concerned about proving herself capable than winning. In the end, that’s what it came down to, the innate desire to show that she could be just as strong with the hunk of metal in place of her arm, and it had nothing to do with what  _should_  have been the most important thing on her mind- defeating Salem and putting a stop to the impending crisis. She shouldn’t have been so weak as to let idle fantasies distract her, yet, here she was. Suffering through her heat with Winter just down the hall, at her beck and call yet entirely out of reach.

For all her strengths, for all her appeal as a mate, as a person, Yang would never measure up, no matter how badly she wanted to try. It wouldn’t be fair to do that, to put all the responsibility on the Alpha to reject her. True, it would make this whole situation easier to tolerate- being acknowledged as not being worthy would make Winter’s scent less appealing and it might even push the thoughts from her head and the dreams from her subconscious- but it would hurt, too. Hell, even with her arm, she couldn’t be sure the Alpha would consider her; Winter carried herself so purposefully, with each motion accounted for and measured precisely, and she’d spent enough years at Qrow’s throat to likely dismiss Yang out of hand.

So why, why,  _why_ was she torturing herself like this? Wanting something impossible, trying to convince herself it could be worth the chance- what would possess a person to be so self destructive?

Then again, she’d never been exactly mindful of her own well being when it really mattered, so she supposed it really was par for the course.

“Yang?” Her eyes flew open, having closed sometime while she was focusing on the woman’s scent. “Can you hear me?”

“Yeah.” She called back, biting back a moan as she rubbed herself through her pants. The room itself had no clocks and she’d purposefully forgone bringing any sort of time keeper with her, because she’d found that the ticking annoyed her more than anything when she was just trying to wait out the uncomfortable sensations, but it had to at least be the next day by now. At least, she hoped so.

“Are you hungry? Do you need more water?”

“No,” she replied, biting her lower lip. She could go to the door, right now, and key it open. Force the woman to look her in the eye, see if it changed anything. It wouldn’t, she knew that, she  _knew_  that-

“Have you even  _drank_ any water?” A sharpness infected Winter’s tone, her agitation spiking, and Yang could hear the shuffling from the other side of the door to indicate pacing.

This whole ordeal must be driving the Alpha crazy with frustration.

Reluctantly, she pulled her hand away from the apex of her thighs and reached out, grabbing one of the remaining water bottles and downing the contents in a few gulps. “Yeah.”

Her hand clenched into a fist, crumpling the plastic like it was nothing as a powerful wave of want coursed through her. It would’ve made her knees buckle had she been standing and she briefly thanked her foresight to keep the little bag of provisions close to her nest of blankets. Still, she whined, curling in on herself again as the empty ache surged, threatening to break down her self restraint.

Against her better judgement, she let go of the empty bottle and quickly shoved her hand down, beneath the fabric of her pants and panties, delving into the molten heat of her arousal. She couldn’t keep fighting the impulse, especially not with Winter’s scent so strong, making her wish beyond anything that she stood a chance. The very idea of completion standing just outside the room pulled a whine from her throat and she began stroking her fingers between her folds, knowing that simply attacking her clit with reckless abandon or pushing inside of herself would not only bring out a quick release but also prolong the inevitable doubling down on her misery once it became apparent that her self gratification hadn’t worked.

“Yang.” She gasped at hearing her name, spoken just loud enough to be heard, allowing her mind to play tricks on her hearing and fill in the emotions she wished were attached. “Are you listening to me?”

“Uh huh.” The Omega surprised herself, somehow managing to speak despite the increased tempo of her breathing, trying to split her attention between whatever the woman would ask of her next and providing just enough friction against her clitoris to keep the maddening sensations from overwhelming her.

For a moment, she thought Winter had given up, but the next words through the door proved that thought very wrong. “You’re touching yourself, aren’t you?”

She bit back a moaning reply, struggling to sound at least somewhat in control, though that had fled a while ago. Despite her heat increasing her body temperature, the spike of warmth in her cheeks spoke to the embarrassment she felt at being so blatantly caught. She thought herself hardly fitting of blame, all things considered; it wasn’t like she had many options at this point. “Y-yeah.”

“I see.” Two thumps followed, sounding almost like fists hitting the door, but she was immediately distracted from the sounds by Winter’s voice taking on a keen, commanding edge. “Listen to me, Yang. Slow down.” A whine built in her throat as her fingers faltered, torn between obeying the commands of an Alpha and continuing to provide what relief they could. “I said  _slow down_ , not stop.”

Yang obeyed, dragging her fingers in a wide circle deliberately, taking her time with each stroke. Considering she hadn’t removed any of her clothing, she really didn’t have much room to work with, yet still she tried, spreading her legs and rolling onto her back to improve her position somewhat. Well, that, and present herself in a way, despite Winter not being able to see her; her head tilted back, exposing her throat to the room, and if she closed her eyes and let her imagination run rampant, she could almost imagine the Alpha was standing just beside the bed, waiting for the moment to claim her.

“Are you rubbing your clitoris?”

“Yes.” She whined, frustrated by her own lack of coordination. Although she’d learned how to get by using only her left hand, she didn’t possess nearly the same degree of dexterity, and the lack of a deft touch at the moment  _really_ hurt. On top of that, this was a fruitless endeavor anyway; it would just make things worse for her in the long run but she couldn’t stop, driven by need to sate the uncontrollable hunger.

“Good, but go down. Push one finger inside yourself.” The Omega considered ignoring the order for all of a moment before Winter’s voice called again, an edge to the words. “Do it, Yang.”

Again, she obeyed, some part of her subconscious relishing the orders, willing to believe for a moment that the only reason the Alpha remained outside the room was because the woman couldn’t stop being too damn pragmatic; they were in no position to be mating, especially not when it could result in a pregnancy. Otherwise, she’d be in her, using lithe fingers to slide through her abundant wetness and dip inside, preparing her for something much larger. Her body didn’t seem to care much, though, her inner walls immediately clamping down on the intrusion, and she gasped at the spike of relief and subsequent increase in desire that offering such a small prelude provided. The need to be properly mated, with or without marks, became overpowering and she started thrusting her finger in search of that relief.

“Do you want to finish?” Winter’s voice rang in her ears, seeming louder than before despite the barrier between them.

“Yes,” she replied, slightly breathless.

“Not badly enough.” The Alpha’s growl carried with it a note of frustration. “Go back to rubbing your clit.”

Yang whimpered but did as told, going back to rubbing circles around the stiff bud, her back arching off the bed as she gasped out. Something had changed, her touch now bringing a spark that shot through her body, making the sensation better and worse at the same time. Apparently, retreating from her aching core was sending her into overdrive, as if she was trying hard to lure her mate back to where she needed attention most. Of course, seeing as the touch belonged to her, she could simply fulfill that desire herself, but she didn’t, couldn’t, not until the Alpha told her she could.

“You smell amazing.” She tilted her head back as the woman spoke, baring her throat as she closed her eyes tighter, pretending that Winter was there in the bed with her, that she wasn’t alone in the pursuit of release. “You  _feel_ amazing.”

Something in her brain latched onto that phrase, her imagination doing its best to override her conscious mind. Suddenly, the fingers bringing her sweet relief weren’t her own and the clothes she hadn’t bothered to discard weren’t her own- it was Winter pressing down on her, holding her in place, preparing to  _fuck_  her, and she couldn’t help the cry that flew from her throat as her body reacted. Pleasure sang along every nerve ending, pressing her closer and closer to climax, and the tempo of the fingers rubbing at her increased to match the thudding of her heart.

“Winter, please!” The Omega begged, completely at the mercy of her chosen mate.

“Now you want it,” the woman said, and in her mind’s eye she could see the little smirk curling those lips. “Very well. Inside, with two.”

She didn’t hesitate, pushing two fingers inside and doing her best to pretend they were Winter’s. Instantly, her muscles clamped down on them, the doubled girth enough to press somewhere deep inside herself. The sensation made her hips buck, grinding her clit against the heel of her palm as she scrambled to reach higher, her orgasm on the cusp of breaking over her. Just a little more stimulation would do, and she thrashed trying to find it, wishing there was a hand groping at her breasts or a hot mouth covering her own, cries spilling forth as she tried to wordlessly beg the Alpha for what she craved.

When Winter’s voice sounded again, it had a rough quality to it, as if she were panting just as hard as the Omega. “Maidens, Yang, you’re perfect.”

That, as it turned out, proved to be enough to push her just that little bit more over into oblivion, her entire body jerking as the force of her amplified climax rippled through her body. She might’ve yelled something but she couldn’t be sure, her mind going blissfully blank as she tried to clench down and lock her imaginary partner in place. By the time she became entirely coherent again, her breathing had calmed some and she could feel the sticky sweat all over her body, hair mussed and bangs plastered to her forehead. With a grimace, she pulled her soaked hand away, flinching at the decidedly unpleasant sensation of losing something that was never there in the first place.

“Yang?” The Alpha called, a thread of nervousness in her tone. “Are you still conscious?”

“Yeah.” She breathed deep, letting it out slowly while sitting up. The powerful release has forced her heat to abate for a time, tricked into thinking she’d actually successfully mated and giving her a small respite to recover. It would eventually bite her in the ass; the next time her heat began to rise, it would be more intense, punishing her for not fulfilling her needs properly. Even with Winter’s voice to help, it would be unlikely her touch alone could bring her another orgasm, and any further trickery would just make the subsequent round of uncontrollable desire that much harder to deal with when it came. But, for now at least, she could think somewhat straight. “Thanks.”

“I’m pleased I could assist.” A frown tugged at her lips as she looked herself over, the sensation of sweat soaked fabric clinging to her skin almost as annoying as the arousal soaking her panties. It didn’t help that her body was still overly sensitive, too. “You should drink some water.”

The reminder that all this- the words and attitude, no matter how forceful and demanding- was purely born from a place of strict dedication to completing the mission set before her soured Yang’s mood further. Winter would’ve done the same for Blake or Jaune, had either been the one to succumb first; it had nothing to do with the Omega in particular.

“Okay,” she said, soft enough maybe it hadn’t been heard through the door as she reluctantly grabbed the last of the water bottles, struggling for a moment to unscrew the cap. Lilac eyes darted to her prosthetic, lying on the ground just beyond the bed, but she dismissed the idea of reattaching it. When the inevitable desire struck again, she would just repeat her previous mistake, and it might not work out as well the second time around.

“I’ll fetch you some food. You need to keep your strength up.”

“I have another ration.” With reluctance, Yang untangled herself from the blankets, intent on two things: refilling the bottles on the table and shedding at least one layer. She’d have enough trouble fighting off dehydration at this rate without the leather jacket and socks. Hell, she should just shuck it all, seeing as she’d locked herself in the room. No one else could come in and no one would be inclined to, so what was the point of keeping it all? She’d already doomed herself to a terrible resurgence in a few hours’ time. Why make it even worse with additional layers?

Honestly, she couldn’t tell if that was her logic talking or just self loathing, seeing as neither would be much help for the next few days.

“I know you don’t like eating those,” Winter said, sounds of shuffling coming from beyond the door before she continued. “You should get as many decent meals as you can. I’ll be back shortly.”

Lilac eyes went to the door, gratitude and curses both sitting on her tongue. As much as she wanted to acknowledge that the Alpha could just as easily leave her to her devices and ignore her presence completely, the pity was almost too much for her to bear. She might not be a worthy Omega anymore but she still had her pride.

In the end, she said nothing, shouldering her way into the attached bathroom with one of the water bottles in hand.


	2. Together and Alone

A while later- after a quick cold shower to wash away the stickiness and prolong her lucidity, if by the barest margins- Yang stepped back into the room, grimacing at the feel of the damp clothes on her skin. She could smell the saturation of both her arousal and her hormone infused sweat, which probably made the cold shower pointless in the end but she felt at least marginally better than before. Trying her best to mitigate it, she’d only put her underwear, shirt, and pants back on, since the extra layers would just make the smell stronger. All she had to do was put them back on if she wanted, though it probably wouldn’t be necessary at this point. Seeing as she now had complete awareness of her situation again, no longer locked in the vicious cycle of her burning need for companionship warring with her better sense, the Omega had time to sit in one of the corners, head leaned back and eyes closed, until three sharp raps sounded at the door.

Yang sighed, glancing down at her right bicep. It would probably be less alarming to attach her prosthetic but, frankly, the damn thing would come off the moment she locked the door and the whole thing proved too much hassle for something so short. Plus, it wasn’t like the Alpha hadn’t seen her detach the arm for maintenance; she’d even offered to help once or twice, having a bit of firsthand knowledge about Atlas tech herself. At first, the Omega thought it had something to do with a disbelief regarding her ability to do the work herself, especially using her off hand, but it turned out that the woman genuinely enjoyed such meticulous work as a distraction.

Three more knocks snapped her out of her daze as she got to her feet, heading towards the door an bracing herself while clumsily keying it open. The moment the barrier disappeared, Winter’s scent his her full force and, while it did have an effect, the pheromones didn’t have  _nearly_ as much power as the sight before her.

The Alpha looked… dangerous and desirable, if she had to pick two words to describe it. Blue eyes darkened by lust, pupils blown wide, shoulders back to accentuate her chest, a keen expression that would’ve pinned most Omegas- and even some Alphas- in place, and, on the fringes of her vision as she held Winter’s gaze, she could see the telltale bulge in those regulation military pants. Luckily, the cold shower gave her just enough control over herself in that moment to not instantly jump forward or tilt her chin back in invitation, though the urge to do both thudded through her.

“Here.” The woman barely got the words out through her clenched jaw, shoving the plate forward while her other hand clenched into a fist at her side. “It’s still warm.”

“Thanks,” she replied, accepting it with her left hand and finding herself at an impasse. Without her prosthetic, she couldn’t hit the buttons to close and lock the door, which left her with the options of either slowly backing away until she could set the plate down or simply turn around, trusting the Alpha’s self control. In reality, the choice was obvious for just about anyone else in Yang’s position; offering one’s back while in heat constituted the single biggest invitation she could think of offhand.

However, Winter had managed just fine thus far and, seeing as she obviously lacked both arms, it should be fairly apparent that she wouldn’t serve as a very decent mate anyway. So, she turned around, intending to set the covered plate down on the nearest available surface.

The high pitched smack of flesh against steel prompted her to turn, finding that perhaps she’d overestimated the Alpha’s control and just when had she taken off her gloves, anyway? The woman stood, hands holding the door frame in white knuckled grips, lips beginning to pull apart to show teeth, and it was obviously taxing her strength to its limit- physically and metaphorically- to keep from crossing the threshold.

“Close. The. Door.” Winter growled, blue eyes flashing with an unspoken promise.

Dropping the plate onto the dresser, the Omega took three long strides and jammed her finger on the close command, waiting until the barrier appeared between them before sucking in air; the whole while, their gazes were locked, and she had to blink a few times to take the sting from her eyes even as her heat began to reemerge, warmth flashing all over her body. “S-sorry.”

“It couldn’t be helped.” A thump against the door sounded, followed by some shuffling. “I apologize for that. You should eat while it’s warm.”

“I could always just put it on my stomach to heat it up,” she said, more to herself than as a retort. Already, she could feel the ache between her legs returning and it would only be a matter of hours before she’d reached the same state of frenzied longing as before.

She heard another dull thump before the woman seemed to retreat, her scent fading slightly as Yang collected up her meal and returned to the bed. Another bad idea, likely, because the blankets smelled of sweat and sex, but she wanted to have the blankets wrapped around her, a subconscious desire for something to hold her together.

Idly, she considered that Weiss would give her hell about eating in bed if given the chance, a flicker of a smile passing over her lips before she started eating. It seemed to just be leftovers from before- beef stew, with vegetables and spices, and she needed to ask Ruby when she’d learned to make it- but she ate it with relish, savoring the flavor while she could. Between her increased body temperature and the thrashing that would come in the later stages of her heat, she could use all the energy she could get.

After she’d eaten, she put the plate with the one from before and went back to the blankets, curling up again and pulling them tight around her. Between the energy spent on her orgasm and the full belly, she might be able to catch a few more hours of sleep, and she would take every opportunity presented to make the time pass a little quicker.

* * *

Yang gasped, her back arching as electricity traveled up her spine, toes curling even as her legs opened wider. Her mate watched and waited, drawing lazy circles around her stiff nipples to draw a whine from her throat, teasing her mercilessly while withholding her salvation. The Omega wanted to reach out, pull the woman closer, but to no avail; her left wrist was locked in place by a firm grip and her prosthetic lay forgotten elsewhere. A plea lay at the tip of her tongue but it flew from her mind as something pressed against her, sliding through her folds in prelude to the completion she craved, and her head tilted back as a moan tore from her throat, wordlessly begging for more. A hot tongue traced its way up the side of her neck, teeth lightly nipping beneath her ear for a moment before the Alpha spoke.

“Is this what you want?” Winter’s voice sounded as composed as ever, but with a dark undertone that spoke of raw power, as if she could easily get up and walk away without complaint or concern. “You need to be clear.”

“Please,” she said, arching her back again and hissing with pleasure as weight settled over top of her, giving her delicious friction against her breasts and hips, holding her in place and coaxing her into relenting the fight. “Fuck me, Winter, please.”

That earned her another pass of the Alpha’s erection through her folds, the head pausing at her entrance but retreating. “I’m a bit of a traditionalist, Yang. Try again.”

She wanted to scream, looking up into the woman’s eyes and seeing the desire swirling in them; it wasn’t  _just_ to mess with her, though she could see the amusement around the edges of Winter’s smirk, but she’d have thought that saying it once, in any manner, would be enough. “Mate me, breed me, fuck me, take me, bond me- what do you want from me?”

The woman’s smirk turned into a smile just before she leaned down, setting the words against her ear, the hot whisper driving her even further into fevered want. “ _Everything_.”

Then she moved, teeth sinking deep into the juncture between neck and shoulder as the Alpha’s hips moved forward, at last granting her the completion she so desired. Yang moaned at the intrusion as her chosen mate pushed forward, apparently wanting to take her time as she started working on leaving a lasting mark. They’d only be bonded if she returned the favor, though, so the Omega craned her neck up, latching onto the skin as-

“ **YANG!** ”

Her eyes snapped open, breathing ragged as she startled awake. Only then did she notice that she had, in fact, just awoke, alone in the room with her own hand crammed between her legs, tangled up in the sheets with her head at an awkward angle putting pressure on her right shoulder.

 _Damnit_.

Jolting upright, she hissed while pulling her hand free, the sticky wetness of her own arousal coating the digits and a spark of pain lancing through her core at being denied the source of her pleasure so quickly. Yang had no idea how long she’d been asleep but her heat had returned in full force, mind clouded as she instinctively breathed in through her nose, relishing the agitated scent of the Alpha just behind the door. Winter seemed frustrated beyond words and she could finally detect the tang that signaled the woman’s response to her heat, the marker that made sure she wouldn’t be mistaken for a bonded Alpha or one entirely uninterested.

“Sorry.” The Omega called out, her voice slightly unsteady. “It was… just a dream.”

“I should hope so,” Winter replied, an edge to her voice. “If someone had managed to slip past me, I’d be rather cross.”

Yang looked at the door, furrowing her brows slightly. It almost sounded like the woman was concerned she’d found someone to mate with- which was a ludicrous theory only made possible by her jumbled sense of logic at present- and she almost called the Alpha out on it. Instead, she merely flopped back down on the bed, trying to breathe through her mouth and wiping her hand on her shirt.

Closing her eyes, she tried to will herself back to a dreamless sleep, lips curling into a sour frown as the images- so vivid, so  _real_ , but not- plagued her once more. She’d had dreams about the woman before and not just counting the past day or so; traveling with each other as they had for the past few months and fighting each other as hard as they did when they sparred, it seemed only natural for Winter to make an appearance or two in her dreams. Most were the innocent sort, if a bit nonsensical- rapidly transitioning between places, disobeying rules of logic, revisiting the worlds shown in movies or cartoons or books, and then some- but she’d already been down this road too many times. Even if Remnant as they knew it collapsed and the Schnee name meant nothing more or less than any other surname on the face of the planet, Winter would still be Winter, a strong, vocal, determined force to be reckoned with, an Alpha to the core, and Yang would be… nothing. A faulty Omega with nothing to show except a missing arm and a broken home.

Sometimes, she wondered if this was why Raven left. If she’d known all along that Yang would never amount to anything and simply couldn’t believe she’d sired someone so weak. The Omega had fought tooth and nail to be stronger, to turn every hurt into more strength and power, to be a vicious defender of those she loved dear… and she’d failed.

Maybe that’s all there was to her.

“Yang.” Winter’s voice pierced her thoughts but she didn’t open her eyes, instead imagining the Alpha standing on the other side of the door, brows pinched together and trying to not hold her altered state against her. “It’s only a couple more days. You’re doing wonderful.”

She rolled her eyes, turning onto her side so her back faced the door. “Yeah, thanks.”

“I mean it.” Some of the agitation bled from her voice, sincerity ringing true in her tone. “I’ve always admired your strength. This is a difficult position to be in and I… I think you’re handling it better than most could.”

Stop.

Yang wanted to say the word but it caught in her throat, at war with the pain in her chest to hear more. It almost sounded like the Alpha was trying to encourage her, the way a mate would, because being bonded didn’t always mean every heat would be spent getting lost to each other and fulfilling those instinctive urges. But that was foolish; Winter was a soldier, first and foremost, and keeping morale up came with the job. She offered the same sort of encouragement to all of them when they were weary after a battle or training, carrying herself like an officer and inspecting her troops regardless if she’d left behind the military proper and didn’t lead their particular bad of misfits. It just… made sense that she would be supportive right now; it didn’t mean anything.

Ironically, the very reason she shouldn’t be allowing the words to affect her seemed to be the exact reason she didn’t want the woman to stop. They might be meaningless in the specific context- not words from one mate to another, not meant to soothe an ache that she wanted to attend to personally- but when would Yang get another chance to have someone support her like this? Being relegated to a life alone, unfit to be bonded to just about anyone, didn’t offer much in the way of support, and even if she could acknowledge that logically and felt the pang of loneliness down to her very soul, it did little to assuage the ache in her loins at present. The idea that the support came from a genuine place, from a willing partner who knew just as she did that they couldn’t be distracted by a pregnancy right now, made the agony a little easier to bear.

But that didn’t change the fact it was a fantasy she shouldn’t be allowing herself to indulge in, especially not right now. It would just make everything hurt worse when they went back to being comrades in arms and nothing more.

Her core clenched, heat rising in her cheeks first before a wave passed over her body. The next round of hell had begun and she squeezed her thighs together tightly to try and stave if off for a bit longer, curling in on herself as she raggedly breathed.

“It’s starting again, isn’t it?” Winter seemed to be picking up on the change in her scent, the sound of something scratching at the door hitting her ears a moment before a thud. “I can talk you through it-”

“No,” she said, gritting her teeth at the way her body reacted to the offer, her mind turning to a hazy fog once more as the vivid dream came back to the forefront of her mind. The more she indulged, the harder it would be to break away. “I’m just… gonna… try sleeping it off.”

It wouldn’t work… but maybe it could lessen the overall sting.

“I’ll be here if you want anything.” The Alpha offered, the sound of her voice retreating.

She looked over at the door, the temptation to find out exactly what ‘anything’ meant becoming stronger, but she tramped down on it best she could. After all, the door hadn’t been locked since the last time she’d opened it and Winter likely knew that; if she wanted to enter the room, she easily could’ve.

Yang cursed herself for trying to make something out of nothing and closed her eyes, willing for sleep to find her.

* * *

Sleep eluded her and the sensations preyed on her mind, slowly driving her insane. At first, it was just the raging arousal and increased temperature, turning her little cocoon of blankets into an inferno that she couldn’t justify leaving, wanting the fire to burn through her until there was nothing left. Sweat rolled across her forehead as she cupped herself, inner muscles quivering as she yearned for completion. She could try touching herself again but Yang could already tell it wouldn’t work, that just providing friction to grind against did nothing but make her burn hotter. Even with Winter’s voice to guide her, she wouldn’t be able to reach climax; she needed the Alpha’s touch, her presence, her- but, no, she couldn’t, she  _couldn’t_ , even with the woman’s scent invading her mind, coaxing her to try, just try, and she shouldn’t, she  _shouldn’t_ , but would it really be so bad to just take the rejection?

Her teeth sunk into her lower lip as she tried to stifle a groan. It would be absolutely wrong to put it on the woman to reject her, though; Winter was doing her best to be fair and supportive. Putting her in the position of choosing wouldn’t be right. This was  _her_ heat and she had to handle it.

But the Omega felt a traitorous thought worm into her mind: it would make everything easier. Confronting the woman, hearing her rejection instead of simply suspecting it, that would make her scent far less potent, much less tempting.

No. No, she couldn’t do that. It wouldn’t be fair and, knowing Winter, she’d be diplomatic about the whole ordeal, somehow find a middle ground. Something that would work in the meantime but, in the end, it would lead to heartache down the line, because while one of them could remain professionally detached all the damn time, Yang sure as hell couldn’t. Just staying in the room at present seemed almost too much to bear, quite frankly.

Her eyes opened slightly, darting towards the door. But maybe, maybe…

Her hips bucked against her hand, eyes squeezing shut as she turned to hide her face as another surge of want radiated through her. Even without the extra layers to make things worse, she could still feel a massive amount of heat radiating from her core. She couldn’t give in; it wouldn’t do her any good in the long run. She had to remember that. There was no chance of being bonded, especially not with the Alpha watching over her. Once they defeated Salem, Winter would find an Omega capable of matching her step for step, a strong, dependable mate who wasn’t effectively three quarters of a person- all categories Yang fell short. She might’ve been able to try once but… that wasn’t her fate, not anymore.

Gritting her teeth, the Omega tried to reach out with her right hand to grab hold of the blankets or pillow, something to ground her, but without her prosthetic attached, she could do nothing and pulling her hand away from the apex of her thighs was just as terrible an idea. It would just increase the longing thudding through every fiber of her being.

At least right now she had a tenuous grip on her raging arousal. If she lost it, she’d probably stumble to the door and key it open. Winter would be there, and she could fix-

No, no, she couldn’t. She would try, she would find some manner of satisfying the Omega’s heat, but she wouldn’t be able to  _fix_ Yang because there was no fixing her. She would forever be this… this… broken, barely functional creature.

“Yang? What’s going on?”

She growled, glaring at the door. “I’m fine.”

“You’re clearly distressed.”

“I’m in  _heat_.” She yelled, her frustration coming to bear. Couldn’t the Alpha figure out that her presence wasn’t helping matters in the slightest? That she’d just be trapped in this cycle for a few days with no relief- none ever, and there was absolutely nothing any of them could do about it. They couldn’t change the past; she would be stuck like this for the rest of her life. “What part of this  _doesn’t_ qualify as distress?”

“This is different.” A thread of uneasiness in her voice pulled the woman’s attention back towards the door. “Talk to me.”

_You’re not my mate. No matter how much I want you to be._

“No,” she said, curling in on herself. “Nothing to talk about.”

“Yang, I swear.” The Alpha’s voice became more forceful, and that just made everything so much worse for Yang, a sharp stab of want lancing through her core. Unbidden, images sprang to her mind that pulled a whine from deep in her throat. Unconsciously, she rolled onto her stomach and pushed up onto her knees, her shoulders and head still pressed into the mattress beneath her and she only became aware of the change when a shudder wracked her frame, the thought of Winter kneeling behind her, looming over her, pressing her down-  _damnit_. “There has to be  _something_ I can do.”

Yang grit her teeth, pulling her hand away from her crotch long enough to tear the blankets off herself, falling to the floor in the process. She hardly noticed the impact, rolling to her feet and taking a moment to stabilize herself. Her knees almost buckled, the loss of something pressing against her molten core sending her attention skittering away for a brief moment before she refocused on the door.

Winter wanted to help? Fine. Perhaps it would be better to just confront the Alpha with reality.

She stumbled to the door, smashing her closed fist on the console twice before the door actually opened. The moment it did, she locked eyes with the Alpha, holding onto the door frame to steady herself and she wasn’t alone in needing the support. Winter stood ready to lean over her, pupils blown wide and breathing deeply through her nose, shoulders tensing with the effort of keeping herself in place. Her lips pulled back, baring her teeth just a little, and Yang matched the expression for a moment before a splotch of color caught her attention- a lime green package about the size of a lien held in the woman’s left hand, and suddenly everything stopped.

For one moment, the pieces remained jumbled up entirely.

And  _then_ it clicked.

“YOU HAD A CONDOM THIS WHOLE TIME?” She roared, her sexual frustration getting the better of her as her eyes flashed red, her heat temporary overpowered by her semblance.

Winter straightened up, her teeth flashing dangerously as she scowled. “Using it earlier would hardly be productive. I only have the one.”

She didn’t need to shout, her voice icy as ever, but the Omega still felt like she had room to push, so she did. “YOU STILL SHOULD’VE TOLD ME.”

“ _You_  retreated.” The Alpha leaned forward slightly- barely through the threshold, if that- but it still made her seem bigger, more imposing, and she’d never really needed help in that regard. “Why would you do that if you would’ve considered it in the first place?”

Then again, Yang  _was_ helping her; her knees had buckled slightly, legs bending so she appeared smaller despite her defiant glare, and that meant she was tilting her head back to maintain the eye contact. Challenging, testing- even if she had no logical reason to doubt the woman, it seemed instinct didn’t abide by higher reasoning. She had to prove to herself that Winter could be the sort of mate she wanted, needed- or rather, it was the Alpha who had to prove herself and she just provided the opportunity.

“I have my reasons,” she replied, lessening her volume just a bit- not a full concession, but enough to give the Alpha a hint of where to go next even as she shuffled back a little, hardly half a step.

“I’m sure you do!” Winter raised her voice just a little, a growl roughening the edges of her words.

For a moment, it looked like she would step forward, press the advantage, and the Omega would’ve promptly put her through a wall for it. While some mates might prefer it that way- the thrill of the fight before release- Yang wasn’t looking to start a brawl. It must’ve translated well enough as the Alpha leaned back a little, preparing to retreat. The pheromones kept her feet planted, though, rooted to the spot as she waited, watching every move the blonde made with those keen blue eyes darkened by lust.

 _That_ was what Yang wanted in a mate. Someone who would match her in intensity without pushing her one way or another, someone who understood that she burned as bright as a flame but could be perfectly happy smoldering in a hearth. Trying to smother her or fan her higher would just end poorly, but Winter had no intentions of doing either, giving her time to make her decision.

Except, she’d made it long ago and couldn’t be bothered to consider the long term consequences at present. Even if only heartbreak and pain lay at the end of this road, she’d already committed to it.

Reaching out, she grabbed hold of the woman’s lapel, yanking forward with all her might. It shouldn’t have been enough to move her- they’d tested their strength against each other enough; Winter did not move unless  _she_  deemed she would- but the Alpha seemed reluctant to resist, brought forward to crash her lips against Yang’s as she entered the room. The door slid closed behind her- she must’ve hit the switch, not that the Omega registered the thought consciously, too busy engaging in a battle of a much different kind. Their lips met, tongues sliding against each other as they briefly fought for dominance, a contest Yang willingly conceded all too quickly, relishing the way the Alpha immediately took the lead. She offered no resistance when Winter’s hands slid under her thighs and pulled, bringing her legs to wrap around the woman’s slender hips. Their kiss broke when she felt the bulge of the Alpha’s erection pressing against her, exactly where she needed but with far too many layers separating them, and she let out a keening whine to protest being denied the satisfaction she craved.

“Patience.” Winter chastised, fingers briefly digging into her rump as she adjusted her hold, but the tightness in her voice spoke of her own difficulty in exercising self restraint. “I’m not taking you on the floor. Your back will thank me.”

“My back doesn’t have much say in the matter right now.” She growled out, wrapping her left arm around the woman’s shoulders and clutching at the fabric of her jacket. “I need you naked.”

“I plan to be, very soon,” the Alpha replied, leaning forward to catch her in another kiss that she eagerly returned, though she didn’t seem to appreciate the way Yang began shifting her hips, trying to gain some much needed friction even through the layers. “Keep doing that, I’ll drop you.”

“You’ll follow me to the ground.” She shifted her aim, trailing kisses up the woman’s jaw and nibbling on her earlobe, more than a little gratified by the stumbling steps Winter took to cross the room as a result.

A groan left her lips, raising Yang’s confidence while also stoking the heat between her thighs, taking the sound as one of praise. Maybe she  _could_ do this, satisfy a mate just like any other Omega; maybe exuberance would make up for the lack of a limb and a poor track record. “You’re not wrong.”

Yang continued her assault, doing her best to lessen the movements of her hips so the woman could reach their destination while also trying to entice her to move faster. Before she could really think about it, she was redirected into yet another searing kiss as Winter came to a stop, submitting to the Alpha’s need for dominance as a lithe tongue slipped into her mouth. She put up a bit of a fight at first but she’d lost long before they’d begun, moaning as the grip on her buttocks tightened for a moment. When they separated, Winter reached up to push at her shoulder, and a brief glance confirmed they’d reached the bed, so she let go and fell back onto the mattress, scrambling back as best she could while the Alpha shed her jacket. Her shirt followed swiftly, boots kicked off, and if it wasn’t for Yang taking off the majority of her clothes earlier, she’d probably be behind in that respect. As it was, all she had to do was kick off her pants and tear off her shirt, both tasks made only marginally more difficult by distraction; she’d never been privy to seeing this much of the woman exposed, and she almost immediately forgot what she was doing altogether as she drank in the sight.

The toned build of her abdomen, muscles subtly etched beneath her skin rippling with every motion, and her breasts, perhaps a bit bigger than most Alphas, with rosy nipples stiffened to hard peaks- both made her mouth water, the urge to taste and mark and suck until she’d mapped out every inch with her tongue almost overriding the aching want in her core. However, the moment her gaze drifted lower, below the line of Winter’s hips to the erection hanging heavy between her legs, her heat reasserted itself, sending a shock of pure want through her body and pulling a gasp from her lips, followed by a keening cry. She reached down to tear off her panties but the Alpha’s commanding tone stopped her in her tracks.

“No.” Quickly, the woman knelt on the bed, crawling over her while maintaining eye contact. “It’s hard enough to think straight.” Yang quirked a brow, lips tugging into a grin, and she found a matching one directed back at her; apparently, Schnees  _could_  make half decent puns. “Just let me get the condom on first.”

“Hurry.” She pleaded, not the least bit embarrassed as her whole body flushed. Winter hadn’t even exerted her presence in an overtly physical way yet, just looming over her without bearing down, but she already felt her head tipping back to expose her throat, legs parting of their own accord. She wanted, she needed, regardless if the satisfaction would only be temporary, and the thought of being denied what she craved now was unbearable. “Please.”

No verbal response came, just the tearing of the package open, caught between the woman’s teeth as she used one hand to hold it while the other reached out, stroking along the hard planes of Yang’s abdomen. Clever fingers dipped down, sliding through soaked folds and Yang’s hand shot out to grip the woman’s shoulder, trying to pull her closer even as she let loose another moan. It wasn’t the contact she craved but she’d be damned if she wasn’t about to enjoy it to its fullest, the foreign touch sending shivers down her spine as a new flood of wetness spilled forth. When a cautious finger entered her, she tightened her grip on the Alpha’s shoulder, her superior strength winning out as Winter shuffled forward, but she quickly found her hand ripped away and pinned to the mattress at the wrist.

Blearily, she blinked up, whining at the newfound lack of control even as she clenched down on the intruding digit, relishing the sensation of being pinned, even if just a little. “Winter-”

“I know.” She growled, leaning down to lightly nip along the Omega’s jawline, as much an arousing gesture as a placating one. “I’ve only one chance to do this right. I need to focus.”

Yang hissed, arcing her back and feeling their chests press together ever so slightly, hardened nipples pressing against heated skin. “It doesn’t have to be perfect.”

“For you? Yes, it does.” Slowly, the Alpha worked her way down, following the line of her neck and spending a few moments focusing on where her pulse pounded the hardest while working her finger inside the woman pinned beneath her. Careful, tentative touches, slowly building up steam as she worked a second finger in and brushed her thumb against the stiff bud of her clit. “You need to be ready for me. I’m already starting to knot.”

A trill of giddy pride shot through her at those words, finally handed the acknowledgement she’d wanted throughout this whole ordeal. She was having a profound effect on the Alpha, and she turned her head to entice the woman into another kiss. This time, they didn’t even bother with the pretense of fighting for control, Winter’s tongue invading her mouth even as she worked a third finger inside the writhing Omega. Normally, it would be too much too fast, but after days of being maddeningly aroused, the sense of fullness had her inner muscles fluttering, alternating between clamping down hard on the digits and giving them room to probe deeper.

Winter spread her knees, allowing her to lower her body while also forcing Yang’s wider, not that the Omega wasn’t plenty wide already. It felt like she was just establishing herself, her scent becoming more prominent and mixing with the blonde’s as she made it clear she had control of the situation- control Yang found herself willingly giving up. In all her experiences with Alphas, very few had this sort of confidence in themselves, this sort of presence, and it felt amazing to let go without hesitation but she needed more contact. That desire saw itself satisfied a moment later as the woman’s weight bore down on her- not enough to be uncomfortable but granting that wondrous sensation of skin sliding against skin, the hardened points of her nipples finally given something more satisfying than fabric to press against. She’d never thought much to the Alpha’s generous chest but now found herself praising it with inarticulate moans as the lack of space between them pushed her further into the mattress, each breath bringing some small amount of friction. Already, a thin sheen of sweat covered her, as much a result of the fire burning within as their hasty movements, the fingers thrusting inside of her pausing to wiggle, pushing against each pulsating wall.

Idly, she hoped they had a chance to do this without the heat driving them forward; she rather liked foreplay but found herself cursing every little delay as she ached to be filled. A whine left her throat a moment later as the fingers withdrew and she pulled lightly at the hand pinning her wrist. Throwing off the hold would’ve been easy, even without the added leverage of her prosthetic, but this wasn’t about attempting to escape. She didn’t want that, no, especially not when it looked like she might be moments away from finally being satisfied, but she really wouldn’t mind the process being hurried up a bit. Judging by the growl that spilled from Winter’s throat and the fingers encircling her wrist tightening a fraction, she’d gotten her wish.

“You’re demanding.” The words were grumbled out by her ear as the Alpha pushed firmly against her, a gasp slipping through her lips.

“You wouldn’t… want me any other way.” Her head tipped back as something brushed against her aching core, too slick and smooth to be flesh. On some level, she acknowledged the barrier would kill some of the sensation but it was a practical sacrifice and, if she managed to do this  _right_ , it wouldn’t matter. Most mates bonded at the moment of climax, biting into their chosen lover’s flesh hard enough to leave a deep, lasting mark, and for the first time since she woke up without her arm, that looked like a real possibility instead of a flight of fancy.

Winter pushed up, looming over her long enough for the Omega to see how her eyes had darkened, pupils blown wide. “You’re absolutely correct.”

She reached down, beyond Yang’s sight because she couldn’t seem to break eye contact even if she tried, and guided the bulbous head of her erection between slick folds. Her body arched in response, straining towards the Alpha, and she wasn’t disappointed as another pass directly preceded the tip nudging inside of her. It felt big, swollen, and she had to begrudgingly admit that Winter’s attempts to acclimate her previously were well worth it. Still, as the Alpha inched her way inside, she hissed at the pleasant stretch, eyes falling shut as she tilted her head back, exposing her throat again.

When she didn’t feel her lover’s hot mouth descending on her, she forced herself to open her eyes and look up, reading the pained restraint in the woman’s face. Apparently, for all her calm indifference before, she couldn’t maintain her composure now, chest heaving with deep breaths. The moment Yang gave her the signal, she would begin to rut, and rare were the Alphas who could control themselves once lost to their baser instincts.

This was her last chance to change her mind, if she was so inclined.

Yang hooked her leg around the woman’s hip, pulling her closer and gaining a little bit more satisfying fulfillment from the action, but it wasn’t enough to cajole Winter into moving. Gritting her teeth, she growled out her frustration. “What do you want me to say?”

“Tell me what you want,” the Alpha replied, shifting the hand clasped around her wrist higher, entwining their fingers together.

“I want  _you_ , Winter.” She squeezed the hand in hers reassuringly.

For another moment, they were still, just watching each other- one barely holding herself together while the other waited with yearning flashing in her eyes.

Then, the Alpha seemed to accept her words and actions, pressing down as her hips jumped forward, burying one head in the crook of Yang’s neck while the other pushed deeper inside her. A cry burst from her chest, every nerve on fire as she writhed. Pain flashed through her, but of different sorts- the stretch around Winter’s girth, the added weight restricting her movements, the hand clinging to hers tightening its grip, the flash of teeth and tongue against her heated flesh that spurred her higher- and she found herself drinking in every sensation with the same reckless abandon, like she’d been trapped in a desert for years and had finally found an oasis. Her heat made the frenzied motions bliss, pleasure arcing through her like electricity, and she could feel her aura rising up, as it so often did when the limits of her body were tested. Literal heat began to engulf her as her eyes swirled to red, turning her head to mouth at whatever skin was within reach.

The moment Winter seemed confident she was embedded deep enough to not risk slipping out, though, her other hand slid up, across the plane of the Omega’s abs to roughly grope at one breast, and she ripped her mouth away to let loose a moan, encouraging her lover to continue. Every jog of her hips brought with it the bliss of being filled followed by the brief alarm of retreat as the Alpha worked her way deeper inside with every thrust, until the pronounced bulge at the base of her shaft pressed against Yang’s opening. The knot that could tie them together, keep every drop of seed locked inside to increase the chances of the union resulting in offspring. The very thought that she could be knotted- conveniently forgetting, for the moment, the bit of rubber preventing that very reality- brought a fresh round of arousal spilling forth as she tried to pull Winter deeper into her. It would hurt, and she could acknowledge that on some level, but she needed it, that little taste of what the end of her heat could be like. Not just satisfaction or a tapered return to normal but completion, a bonded mate filling her until she couldn’t hold it anymore, with the tie locking them in place- the start of a family.

The Alpha’s ragged breathing in her ear stoked the fire within her just as much as the thrusting and the insistent hand on her breast, the lips against her neck, and one of her last fleeting thoughts centered on a flash of gratitude for the safeguard and hopes that it would keep her foolishness in check. Then, everything melted away into pure sensation as Winter slowed the movements of her hips enough to reach between their bodies, fingers dancing over the Omega’s clit and pulling another long moan from deep in her chest. She arched in response, head tipping back as their breasts pressed more firmly together, at once missing the attention being paid her chest while reveling in the shot of desire that stabbed through her. Her inner muscles clamped down, working the firm length inside her, desperately trying to coax the woman to climax, but the layer separating them dulled the sensation just enough that she had to work harder, trying to reach out with her right hand only to uselessly bump her stump against the Alpha’s shoulder.

The reminder should’ve stung, cutting through her lust addled mind, but Winter saw an opportunity and immediately took it, switching the focus of her nipping teeth to just above the anchor for her prosthetic, following the curve of her bicep up to her shoulder. It felt like an acknowledgement, as if by drawing attention to the limb specifically, Winter was saying that she understood what a bond would entail- that, regardless of Yang’s lack and past mistakes, she accepted the Omega as a mate.

“Winter!” She gasped, tears stinging at her eyes as the woman suddenly increased the speed of her thrusting, the hand formerly toying with the stuff bud of her clit tracing over to grab her hip and pin her in place. The other hand still clasped hers, giving a reassuring squeeze as the Alpha began her rut in earnest, focusing on nothing but the increasing rhythm of their bodies meeting. Yang tried to help, though she honestly couldn’t tell if anything she did actually had an effect until the woman began growling, a rolling noise that came from the center of her chest and a sure sign of her impending release. The Omega shut her eyes, the rising tide of her orgasm ready to crash down on her at any moment, and she both wanted it that very second and to stave it off, keep up this pounding rhythm of flesh and sensation that she’d craved for so long.

Then Winter changed the angle of her hips just so, driving deep into the woman beneath her and hitting something there, a spot that bodily threw Yang over the edge and into oblivion. White hot pleasure lanced through her as the tension that had mounted over the past several days suddenly disappeared, every muscle singing as she tried to clamp down on the length still sliding in and out of her, but before she could really register that Winter hadn’t slowed her pace, her climax was interrupted by a sharp, stabbing pain as the Alpha pushed all the way inside of her, the thick knot somehow making it past her entrance. The unpleasantness lasted only a moment, though, the thickness of the knot pressing against her in such a marvelous way, something she’d never felt before, and the next wave of her orgasm washed away all but the distant memory of the pain.

In that moment, all conscious thought ceased. The Omega reacted on instinct, curling up to bite deep into the woman’s right shoulder. Her jaw clenched, tight as she could, and distractedly she noted the sound of Winter’s cry, pain and pleasure mixed together as a tremor ran up her length before her own climax began. Yang held her bite, held the hand in hers, squeezed with her legs, did everything to imprint this moment in every fiber of her being as the Alpha’s voice bounced around the room. Some part of her lamented not being able to feel her mate’s release spilling inside her and the promise of a child taking root but she didn’t dwell on it for long, turning her attention to clenching her jaw hard as she could to ensure the mark would last, all while the ripples of her orgasm rolled through her, aided by the twitching length inside her and the stuttered breathing of her lover in her ear.

Yang blinked her eyes open as the last of the aftershocks began to die, the maddening heat from before brought down to a warm glow that suffused her being. Slowly, she loosened her jaw, releasing the skin and pulling back long enough to look at the mark she’d left, the teeth impressions deep without breaking through and Winter’s pale skin already beginning to show signs of bruising. Pride filled her chest as her tongue darted out to soothe the wound, though it shouldn’t hurt too bad… considering… wait.

The Omega furrowed her brows, carefully shifting her right shoulder just a little bit. Not enough to draw attention to the movement, just tensing her muscles really, to see if any particular part stung. But… nothing did.

Winter didn’t bite her, didn’t mark her. They’d mated, they’d even climax together- or near enough- and everything she’d ever been told or read about the subject said that mating marks were usually given then. Most found it difficult to resist the impulse, but the Alpha had.

They weren’t bonded.

They weren’t mates.

This was just Winter helping her through her heat. An Alpha offering a temporary union to assuage the agony of the process. Nothing more.

Yang felt something deep inside her chest crack. She should’ve known.

No, she  _did_  know, but in the moment, she’d tricked herself into believing something else. Always running headfirst without thinking, going with her gut- wasn’t that what Dad told her she always did?

And, here, she’d done it again.

Winter hummed, turning her head slightly to nuzzle the Omega, seeming pleased and more than a little out of sorts. It almost sounded like she had a smile on her lips. “Yang-”

“Don’t,” she said, her throat dry and cracked from her labored breathing and the string of sounds she’d made while they… she swallowed past the lump in her throat, turning her head away. “I’m tired.”

The Alpha paused, drawing back and trying to catch her eye. “Yang, I-”

“Winter, please.” Closing her eyes, she fought back the tears. How stupid could she be? She honestly thought the woman would want  _her_ as a mate? Winter Schnee, one of the strongest, most poised Alphas she’d ever met, and with her family’s sense of standards besides- what was she thinking? “Just let me rest.” Almost instantly, she cringed. They were tied together; without a little help along the way, they could be stuck like this for a few hours. “I mean, you can… ya know, finish up. But I don’t wanna talk.”

Silence met her for a moment and she fought not to open her eyes because some part of her- some impossible to kill,  _stupid_ part of her- thought she might see something in those blue eyes, something that hinted at a reason for all this aside from the obvious. But she’d let that hope fester for too long already and she shouldn’t burden the Alpha with any more than she already had.

“As you wish,” Winter replied, her voice soft and bereft of that after glow quality it had before. No smile, no deliriousness- just a calm acquiescence to her request.

Of course she’d recover so quickly.

The woman released her hand, shifting so she could reach between them again and lightly roll her clit with clever fingers, coaxing gentler peaks from her. Yang weathered them with as much dignity as she could, cursing herself every time a pleased sigh slipped past her lips. It should feel so good, the softer ripples of her inner muscles quivering and clenching until Winter began jerking inside her again, a grunt pouring from her lips as more seed spilled forth. It would take a few more before she’d spent herself enough to reduce the swelling in her knot, allowing her to withdraw completely. It should feel like the cherry on top of it all, the after glow sustained by little peaks of pleasure rushing through her body.

But now that the illusion had shattered, she couldn’t be bothered to pick up the pieces. It still felt good, but in the mechanical way that eating when she wasn’t hungry felt like; some part of her acknowledged it needed to happen, but she took no enjoyment from it. Not from the smaller orgasms rippling through her, not from the gentle touch nudging her along, not from the barely-there kisses the woman was leaving wherever she could reach in an effort to soothe the tension that had returned to Yang’s shoulders- this was exactly the sort of tender care she’d wanted from her chosen mate. Having it while also not having it…

She’d done this to herself. Winter had done everything in her power to help, to make things easier, but it was the Omega’s stubbornness and terrible decision making that landed her in this position. One would think she would’ve learned a lesson but,  _no_ , she obviously hadn’t.

_Damnit._

Time crawled. Eventually, though, the Alpha reached the end of her reserves. With one final shudder of release, the fullness in Yang’s lower belly began to recede by degrees until Winter could pull her hips back, a strange sort of popping sensation accompanying the retreat of her length as the lessened knot pulled free. Suddenly, the Omega felt so empty, and she didn’t even have anything except her own arousal soaking her thighs. No proof that anything had even happened.

That was for the best, some little voice acknowledged. Being rejected like this was one thing but getting pregnant too? That would rank right up there with losing her arm on her running list of bad decisions.

All the right reasons… all the wrong results.

The Alpha grabbed one of the blankets, pulling it over Yang while she attended to the condom, leaving the bed to dispose of it in the wastebasket. The fabric carried with it a little heat, warding off the sudden chill in the room; she honestly couldn’t tell if the quarters had always been so cold or if her emotions were making the absence of her heat stronger. In a few hours, she’d probably get a little aroused, but not to the same level as before; the satisfaction, though bittersweet, would ward off maddening desire until her body chemistry reset itself. The next time, though, the urges would be stronger, the entire process longer, and she’d likely have to completely isolate herself considering she couldn’t trust her own judgement, apparently.

Rolling onto her side, Yang brought her knees up to her chest, wincing at the stretch in her muscles. It felt good, pleasant, but not… right. She wrapped her arm around herself, tucked her chin into her chest, and burrowed deeper into the blanket. She needed time to get her head on straight, to clear her mind of the debris left behind by her own false assumptions. How could she have been so blind? Wishful thinking, that’s all it was-

The dip in the mattress brought a snarl to her features as she growled out, unable to control the hostility in her tone. “Go.”

“Yang, I-”

“ _Get out_.” The heartache morphed to fury in the blink of an eye. Winter couldn’t do that- couldn’t reject her and then try to share her space like it was nothing, especially not with the mark on her shoulder. Damnit, she’d chosen the Alpha despite everything; if the woman didn’t want her, fine, but she couldn’t stand there and act like it meant nothing to Yang. “ _Leave me alone!_ ”

“Please, listen to me-”

“ _NO!_ ” She curled into a tighter ball, at once wanting to throw a glare at the woman attempting to invade her space and being unable to bear the thought of looking her in the eyes. What would she see? Pity, probably- she’d allowed herself to get hurt, to get dragged into a fantasy. That wasn’t Winter’s fault and, if anything, she was trying to ease the Omega’s pain as much as possible. But if she let herself indulge, it would just tear her to pieces all over again; Yang couldn’t let herself slip back into that mentality. The Alpha rejected her. She  _had_ to accept that. “Look, I get it, okay? I do. But I just- I can’t. I can’t deal with it right now.”

Slowly, the weight on the mattress receded and she could hear the shifting of fabric as Winter got dressed. The woman seemed to be dragging her feet in the process, crisp movements replaced by lethargic shuffling. Guilt infected her chest; driving her… companion away so soon probably ranked as one of the most selfish things she’d done. The Alpha had expended a lot of energy and she deserved rest but… Yang couldn’t take it, couldn’t bear to have her so close when it was all just temporary. She thought she’d be strong enough to take this as a one off and leave it at that, but… she really wasn’t.

She was just a fool.

Winter finished dressing and lingered somewhere in the room, far enough away not to rouse the Omega’s ire but still too close. She seemed to sense that, sighing deeply a few times before moving towards the door. “I’ll… give you some space. If you want anything-”

“Just leave,” she said, softly, barely able to muster the strength to speak at all. The Alpha sounded disappointed and Yang couldn’t help but feel the keen sting in her chest. Despite her inner turmoil, Winter had done nothing but provide as much support and relief as possible.

The closing of the door brought with it the cold loneliness of the room, her heat subsided to the point she could only shiver and bury deeper into the blankets. She tried to sigh- out of weary relief, unending frustration, incredible guilt- but the inhalation made her stop, the air catching in her throat. She could smell Winter’s scent still, clinging to the blankets and her own skin, mixing with hers, and it made the tears she’d been holding back fall. If the Alpha had bitten her back, accepted her as a mate, then their scents would be forever changed, entwined to the point anyone would be able to tell they were bonded to each other.

The scent now filling her lungs was a hint at what she would never have and it burned the inside of her throat as she tried to stifle her crying.

Naked, with sweat cooling on her skin and a bone deep ache, Yang fell asleep, exhausted from the physical and emotional trials.


	3. Boundaries

Yang startled awake at the sound of the door opening, pulling herself tighter into a ball. While the strength of her heat had reduced considerably, she still felt the vulnerability of being off center and naked clawing at her senses. Not to mention the idea of actually having to face Winter, knowing that she’d been rejected; she should probably feel a touch humiliated but shame came much easier, forcing her to close her eyes tight to keep the tears at bay. However, when she sniffled, enough scent got through her runny sinuses for her to realize it wasn’t the Alpha who’d come to check on her.

Well, not  _that_  Alpha, at any rate.

“Are you awake?” She turned her head, blinking away tears and forcing her vision to focus on her teammate standing a few feet away from the bed. “Ah, you’re conscious. That’s good, I suppose.”

“What do you want, Weiss?” Her voice was thick from either sleep or emotion- though more accurately a combination of both but she hoped that didn’t seem readily apparent as she turned her head back. A moment later, her brows furrowed, and not because of the exasperated sigh that served as her teammate’s response. Although her heat seemed to be winding down, she still had the heightened sense of awareness that came with it, and she  _should_ be reacting rather strongly to another Alpha’s presence in her space, especially seeing as Winter’s rejection had brought her sex drive to a stand still. Having someone else so close should be turning her into an angry, moody mess ready to defend herself, but she’d hardly registered the woman as a threat. Sitting up- and forgetting for the moment her own nakedness- the Omega looked over at Weiss, a frown on her lips. “Why…” It then occurred to her the very finite amount of explanations for that. Her anger flared, lips pulling back in a snarl as she inhaled deeply. There, beneath Weiss’ own scent, she could pick up on the traces of another- hazy smoke and the tang of metal, with a hint of something that made her think of old books. “Blake.”

“Of course. No offense to Ruby.” The conscious omission of the other available Omega on board at present didn’t miss Yang, but she rightly didn’t care about that, silent fury burning in her eyes. It didn’t take long for the woman to continue. “I suppose I owe you the truth.” A look of concern flickered across her features briefly before she reached up, unhooking the sapphire pendant at the base of her throat that held both sides of her collar together. Pushing the fabric back and tilting her head to the side, Weiss revealed the dark splotch standing out against her skin, the teeth marks having already faded. Were it anything else, the bruise would be gone as well, which meant it  _had_  to be a mating mark. “We’ve been dancing around the idea for a while now. I’m… afraid the decision to mark each other might’ve been the catalyst to your heat; we’d agreed that mating wouldn’t be wise, considering the circumstances, so this is just our… way of remembering what we’re fighting for.” Blue eyes flicked to hers, expression softening as a touch of warmth reflected in the woman’s small smile. “We were going to tell you and Ruby, but your heat triggered the next day. We should’ve warned you and Jaune what we were planning; it just… didn’t occur to us what could happen until it was too late.”

“Yeah, well… good for you two,” she said, and mentally she kicked herself for sounding so bitter. To be fair, some warning would’ve been nice and this whole fiasco could’ve been avoided… but it would end up just prolonging the inevitable. “You marked her too, right?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?” Weiss seemed genuinely confused, taking a few steps closer. Aside from being mostly immune to the Omega’s lingering scent- though the extra ruffle to her skirt spoke to how powerful her pheromones were, coaxing a physical reaction regardless of her immunity to the call- the Alpha didn’t pose a particular threat either, allowing her to approach, albeit slowly.

Yang’s heat hadn’t entirely dissipated, after all, and she could still become defensive if she felt threatened. “No reason… where’s Winter?”

“Out to get some fresh air. It seems her training didn’t prepare her enough.” The woman shrugged. “Personally, I worried she was relying too heavily on past precedent, but she seemed confident she could remain professional.” Her eyes darted down for a moment. “Could you perhaps… cover up a bit?”

A joke about temptation and prudishness lay in the back of her mind but she tossed it aside, gathering up some of the blanket and wrapping it around her shoulders. “I didn’t think she’d make a habit of standing by an Omega’s space while they’re in heat. Doesn’t seem very smart.”

Instantly, Yang winced. She shouldn’t be bashing the woman due to her own wounded pride. Winter tried to be fair and reasonable, went above and beyond; just because she didn’t want the Omega as a mate, it didn’t give  _her_  the right to lash out, especially not to the woman’s sister.

“It’s hardly a habit; Atlesian military personnel are in close proximity at all times during their initial training phase.” Weiss, either ignoring her brief lapse or genuinely missing it, went about collecting up the Omega’s clothes and folding them neatly. “It’s a requirement for Alphas, Betas, and Omegas to remain in their… what’s the word? It’s something like a dorm but not quite. Anyway, they stay together throughout the Omegas’ heats, to prepare for the circumstances when supplies are limited or non-existent.” Each article of clothing was folded and set on the dresser, prompting a niggling sensation in the back of Yang’s mind to move it, but she ignored the impulse. That provided a good sign that her heat had truly come to an abrupt end. “I offered to be the one to look after you but she insisted she had the training.”

“She probably didn’t want to make Blake jealous,” she said, flopping back onto the bed and throwing her arm over her eyes. Sleep would be impossible at this point but she really wanted some excuse to be left alone. “You’re bonded now; you can’t just go and take care of other Omegas.”

“Blake would’ve understood,” Weiss replied, picking up any trash littering the area and seemingly unable to allow herself to be idle. She paused at the waste basket, likely seeing the evidence of her sister’s presence, before continuing with her sweep of the room. “She’s been worried about you the past few days, you know.”

“She’s a good friend.” Yang rolled onto her side, hoping she could avoid any further questioning or conversation. The younger Alpha had to know at this point that she’d tried and failed to bond with Winter; the last thing she wanted was consolation regarding the rejection. It didn’t serve as a surprise or a deviation of what she’d expected, so she didn’t need to be treated with kid gloves for her stupidly wounded pride.

In the end, the Omega had only herself to blame for this whole debacle.

“Yang.” With a furrow to her brow, she looked over her shoulder to see Weiss watching her with worry plain on her face. “Whatever is running through your head right now, don’t take it too seriously. You and Winter need to talk to each other properly before any decisions are made, don’t you think?”

Immediately, she glared at the Alpha, growling out her reply. “It’s none of your business. I’m not  _your_ mate.”

That would become her mantra, something to help her get through the next few weeks. Weiss wasn’t her mate, Winter wasn’t her mate, she didn’t have a mate and likely never would, and she didn’t care. 

Perhaps if she repeated it often enough, she’d believe it.

“But  _you_  are my friend and my teammate, and  _she’s_  my sister. I’m not entirely baseless in my concern.” Weiss bared her teeth slightly in response, eyes flashing dangerously as a warning. She wouldn’t follow through with it, of course, but the idea that she might seemed to be enough for Yang to divert her gaze. “I won’t interfere because it’s not my place but… please, consider what I’ve said. You both need to talk about this.”

“Whatever.” Rolling back over, she firmly ignored the Alpha’s presence until eventually Weiss sighed, dropping any attempts to communicate. In her scent, Yang could pick up on the annoyance that seemed to perpetually shroud the smaller woman, especially during their early days at Beacon; she’d come to associate it with her sarcastic replies and rolling eyes whenever her newfound teammates did something she found ridiculous. Some part of her understood the Alpha’s feelings because it was definitely Yang’s fault for expecting more, allowing her instinct driven desires to put the thoughts into her head, but right now she just wanted to be angry with the world.

She’d have the rest of her life to be angry with herself.

* * *

Yang and Weiss hardly acknowledged each other. The Alpha ultimately retreated to wait outside the room, her continued presence beginning to evoke Yang’s ire the longer she lingered. For a while, she laid about listlessly, mired in anger and self loathing, but it eventually gave way to a melancholic sort of acceptance. Even if they hadn’t bonded, her heat seemed to be drawing to a close as she no longer felt the gnawing sense of need or desire clawing at the back of her mind or setting her on fire with every breath; she just felt exhausted, physically and emotionally, but her mind kept running. She thought about things she could’ve done differently, maybe, perhaps put up a bit more of a fight, proven she could still hold her own even with the desire to submit running rampant through her veins.

In the end, a useless exercise. She couldn’t have done anything differently enough to spark a change in the outcome. Winter attended to her out of a sense of duty and nothing more and the Omega should be grateful she had such a staunch comrade, considering the odds they faced. Really, who was she to be upset? When they defeated Salem, Winter would have her pick of any person in Remnant. Yang didn’t possess what it took to compete for the affections of an Alpha like her; fooling herself into thinking she had even a ghost of a chance considering her state had momentarily overridden that fact.

Eventually, she pulled herself from the bed, realizing that she’d slipped into the same bottomless pit of despair that she’d fallen into after the Fall of Beacon. She had two options: continue feeling sorry for herself or get back to trudging through the days, going from fight to fight. She would never have a bonded mate to rely on, true, but Weiss and Blake had each other, and Ren and Nora, too. They were her friends and they deserved the chance to enjoy their lives together, free of the looming threat Salem posed.

She went to the bathroom and gave herself a cold shower, scrubbing at her skin hard to dislodge her own scent and Winter’s. Weiss already knew and Blake likely would soon but, beyond that, no one else needed to know. If Ruby found out she’d been rejected, she might very well try to confront Winter or, worse, try to convince her it was just a fluke. That things would work out, that something would change, but that wasn’t how things worked at all, and she didn’t want to break it to her little sister that some people who wanted mates just weren’t meant for them.

When she stepped out of the shower, skin red and angry from the washing, Yang took a deep breath in through her nose, focusing on her scent. It had changed from before- not as potent, not as desperate- but it remained distinct, not layered with the Alpha’s at all.

The room, on the other hand, told enough of the story for her to wince upon entering it again, shoulders slumping at the reminder. She’d tried pushing those thoughts to the very back of her mind- the look in Winter’s eyes, the feel of their skin pressing together, the sense of completion- but just a whiff had brought it all back to the front.

Yang shook her head, a frown on her lips. It would take time to forget. While she hadn’t mated during her heat before, she’d had some fun between Signal and Beacon, opting to get a little bit of experience under her belt before becoming bogged down in schoolwork and missions. Now, those brief liaisons felt like a whole other life, dim and hazy in her memory.

These memories would fade, too.

She moved about the room, her instincts warring with her sense. Normally, an Omega wouldn’t leave whatever area they’d claimed as theirs until a day or two past the end of their heat, recouping lost energy and nutrition with the aid of their mate or having planned ahead for the miserable solo experience. Yang had neither and it would make the most sense to leave, try and force herself to get back into the regular groove of things as quickly as possible to put the whole mess behind her. However, the moment her gaze landed on her prosthetic, her heart clenched painfully.

She didn’t want to leave. The sooner she did, the faster she’d have to forget that one moment when it felt like everything would be right. Once she’d reattached her arm, there was no going back, no pretending she’d almost had everything she’d thought she lost the first time she woke up in Patch with nothing more than a stump.

Yang growled, left hand clenching into a tight fist as she turned away and retreated to the corner furthest from the bed, sitting down with her knees up to her chest.

As much as it hurt, leaving would be her best option. But… she could delay that a little while longer.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in, Winter’s scent still strong enough to linger, and she hugged her knees tight to keep the tears at bay. She’d get through this, just like everything else, and in two weeks or less they’d be back to the battlefield where the threat of life or death would help bury this scar beneath physical ones.

That seemed to be the only thing she was good for, nowadays.

Eventually Weiss came by with some water and food, leaving both just outside the threshold and retreating out of sight by the time Yang got to the door. For a moment, she couldn’t register what had happened, why the Alpha wasn’t standing there when the door slid aside, but then it struck her that she was expecting Winter to be standing there. Her sister at least knew that her presence wouldn’t make things better and so hadn’t stuck around the way Winter did.

Although she didn’t feel hungry, she ate and did her best to breathe through her mouth between bites.

* * *

Yang left the Chief Engineer’s quarters early the next morning. The events of the past twenty four hours had effectively ended her heat, bringing her sense of awareness back to its normal level. If felt strange, no longer having that primal force driving her every action, but she certainly didn’t complain; being back in total control was a blessing she wouldn’t soon take for granted. However, with her return to normal came a few undesired side effects, such as the shaking in her limbs from the abrupt, premature end to her heat and, of course, talking to Winter. 

She’d taken Weiss’ words to heart and spent the past few hours drifting between consciousness and slumber, thinking about why the Alpha would put herself in such a situation in the first place. It just didn’t make a whole lot of sense. 

Then again, Schnees were a funny bunch and not everything they did made sense anyway, and that couldn’t be better exemplified than by the mating mark now adorning the younger sister’s collarbone.

In the privacy of her mind, she could admit the twinge of jealousy nipping at her heart. Blake was her partner and best friend, true, but she’d always considered them equals in that regard. Both learning at Beacon together, both with some parts of their past they didn’t like and wanted to change, both growing in step with each other even if it was in different ways, but now her friend had taken a route she couldn’t follow. 

She was happy for the Faunus, too; she deserved to have someone to care for her the way Weiss did, someone so staunchly loyal and unfaltering. They would make a good pair and, once all the nastiness of the war was behind them, they could really explore their relationship together, and it made Yang that much more committed to seeing this whole thing through.

But knowing that this would be the first of many times she would be reminded of her inadequacy chaffed at her.

Shoving the whole thing to the back of her mind- she would properly congratulate Blake later, in private since it seemed that the pair weren’t being very open about the status of their relationship quite yet, and they weren’t the sort to talk about those sorts of things out in the open anyway- the Omega turned and went up to the next deck, stopping on the landing to breathe in deep. 

Without the heightened awareness of her heat, picking out the Alpha’s scent was more difficult, but she eventually caught it faintly leading towards the upper deck. Fifteen minutes of tracking later and she found herself in the open air of the ship’s top deck, the night sky overhead bringing with it a distinct chill.

Winter stood at the bow, hands clasped behind her back as the breeze lightly teased her hair. Something about her uniform seemed unkempt but only a little, though that came as a giant red flag to the Omega. The fact she wasn’t acknowledged until about five steps away also said something; the woman seemed so lost in thought, she turned around a bit too quick, as if expecting a threat before those blue eyes fell on Yang. Her posture relaxed a fraction but her expression remained impassive as ever.

“Yang.” She blinked a few times before marshaling her thoughts, giving a slight nod. “It’s good to see you out and about. I assume this means your heat has passed?”

“Yeah. Back to normal. My normal, anyway.” She tried to offer a small smile but felt it fall flat, her gaze darting away briefly. “I, uh… thanks. For… helping me out. You didn’t have to.”

“Nonsense.” Winter’s tone seemed softer than usual, as if she was being entirely sincere. “It’s the least I can do.” The corner of her lip twitched and for a moment the Omega could almost believe she saw a bit of vulnerability in the woman’s expression. “However… I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting you to mark me.”

Immediately, several responses entered her mind, all vying to be voiced.

_How could I not?_

_Why didn’t you mark me back?_

_I would be lucky to have a mate like you._

_I shouldn’t have told you to leave._

But reality kept the words locked firmly behind her teeth. Winter was the sort of Alpha others aspired to be- strong, cunning, passionate, determined, the sword’s edge- and the sort of mate anyone in Remnant would wish for… and she was an Omega missing an arm, already proven to be unable to act as a protector or even keep herself in check.

The least she could do was take responsibility.

“I made a mistake. I was in heat and I wasn’t thinking clearly.” Her chin tilted down, as much to express her contrition as to hide her throat from view behind her scarf. “I’m sorry, Winter. I shouldn’t have done that.”

The Alpha stood stock still for a moment, nothing but the breeze rustling the nearby trees to fill the sudden silence, but she recovered quickly enough. “Of course. It’s fine. I understand.” Yang expected relief but she should’ve known the woman wouldn’t be so crass, offering merely a tight smile with her words. “These things happen.”

“Still, I  _am_  sorry.” A sorry excuse for an Omega, she mentally amended, but left it unvoiced. No need to drive the knife any deeper.

“Please, don’t lose sleep about it.” Winter turned, making to resume her post admiring the scenery. “I believe Weiss made some dinner a little while ago. There should still be some in the mess and you need to recover your energy.”

“Did you already grab some?” Mentally, she cursed herself; they would both likely want and need time away from the other to forget those moments they spent locked together, when they almost completed a bond. Well…  _she_ didn’t want the separation, but it would be entirely necessary for both her broken heart to start its mending and for the mark she’d left to begin fading. “I can bring you a plate.”

“Thank you for the offer but I’ve already eaten,” she said, back turned towards the Omega. Her posture looked more tense than before but she would probably relax once Yang was gone.

What a wonderful mess she’d made. Again.

“Alright.” She started heading back inside the ship, trying to pretend like her shoulders didn’t want to slump. “See ya around.”

Yang went back inside and headed straight for the stairs, bypassing the mess entirely. Even if she needed to eat, food wouldn’t satisfy her at that moment with her rolling emotions fit to burst, and she didn’t want to be caught in such a compromised state. She’d already upset the balance within their motley group enough without adding anything further to the pile; the idea of getting either pity or a pep talk right then just made it all the harder to hold her tenuous grip on herself. 

Somehow, she managed to reach a safe destination, the door closing behind her the sign she could allow the tears to fall and the Omega cursed herself for being so broken in so many ways.

Because she hadn’t gone back to the little room she’d picked out for herself back when they commandeered the ship. The one she’d used for the majority of their time traveling in pursuit of Salem’s agents, where the majority of her personal effects sat- not much, but it kinda felt like a smaller version of the dorm room and she liked it- that  _should_ be her destination but that wasn’t where she wanted to be at present. 

Instead, she found herself standing in the Chief Engineer’s quarters once more, tears trailing down her cheeks as she went to the bed and quickly dove into the sheets. It probably wasn’t advisable- her heat charged pheromones still drenched the room- but it was also the only reliable place she could indulge in Winter’s scent.

The Omega shouldn’t torture herself like this but, for a few brief moments, she forgot everything about how inadequate she would be as a mate, how the loss of her arm had irreparably damaged her, and how no one would want her.

And then it all came back and she cried even harder. She curled up in the blankets and fell asleep, quietly sobbing.

* * *

Yang avoided Winter whenever possible. It seemed like the courteous thing to do and the woman didn’t appear keen on crossing her path, remaining conspicuously out of sight on the rare times the Omega braved the common areas. Yang spent most of her time in one of the training rooms next to the gym in the bowels of the ship’s hangar, losing herself to the continuous rhythm of combat. It took the edge off her self loathing, allowing her to focus on the one skill she could still claim- at least, the only one that didn’t pull a groan from her teammates. The Omega worked herself to the bone for hours before going back to her room and showering, spending the rest of her time playing the little handheld game the woman had given her to pass the time. It occurred to her to return it but, seeing as they were going on nearly a full week with no contact, she figured the Alpha would come get it eventually.

“Hey, everyone, come up to the bridge!” Ruby’s voice sounded from the speaker overhead, excitement plain in her tone. “Professor Goodwitch’s back!”

Yang sighed, getting up from her bunk and stretching. Well, she should’ve known she couldn’t avoid the inevitable forever. With the game in hand, she went up to the bridge, bracing herself for what she’d find. 

The moment the door opened, lilac eyes snapped to where Winter stood, leaning against the farthest corner with her arms crossed over her chest and that perfect, inscrutable mask in place.

And… it hurt, a little bit. Here she was, pushing herself nearly to the point of exhaustion just to forget, and the woman appeared entirely unfazed. She didn’t even glance the Omega’s way.

Internally, she berated herself for expecting some sort of reaction.

Brushing it off as best she could, Yang moved to join the others, finally registering the excited chatter about the newcomers she hadn’t even noticed yet. 

Four people stood behind her former professors, each outfitted in variations of the standard Atlesian military uniform and smiling pleasantly while Ruby rambled about their weapons, Goodwitch opting to direct the introductions to Weiss and Blake seeing as their leader appeared fully distracted. Yang immediately noticed their closeness, how easily they stood next to each other and invading the other’s space without concern, and felt another stab in her chest. She shouldn’t hold it against them and she didn’t, not really, but there before her very eyes stood the sort of relationship she would never have and it chaffed at her. She made sure to stand a little bit further than usual from her partner to try and lessen the sting.

“General Ironwood provided us with the intel we needed and released team SNOW here to accompany us.” The former Professor glanced over her shoulder and sighed. “They’re newly graduated from the Academy but not officially assigned to a unit, so their presence with us leaves no paper trail. It will hopefully buy us the time we need to remain undetected while tracking down Salem’s Atlas contact.” Her sharp eyes landed on Yang for a moment, as if she could somehow read the turmoil of the past two weeks with just a look before continuing. “I’ll leave the introductions to them. As soon as Qrow and Oscar return from their… side mission, we’ll be ready to move out.”

With that, she turned, likely heading off to her quarters or wherever Port and Oobleck had gone, leaving Weiss to try and rein in her excited partner while Yang stepped up beside Blake, crossing her arms over her chest. Somewhere behind her, she heard a soft rustle of fabric, as if Winter were moving too, but she ignored it.

“Hey, name’s Yang. Nice to meet you,” she said, looking for some sort of distraction. “Sorry about my sis; she’s a bit of a weapons nut.”

“Oh come  _on_ , I’m not that bad!” The younger woman whined. “I just- they have really cool weapons!”

One of the four chuckled, waving her hand in an easy going gesture. “Ah, she’s fine. They  _are_ pretty cool.” She smiled at Ruby’s quick agreement, running a hand through short, midnight black hair before offering it to the blonde. “I’m Stryker DeLeon, the team leader. Heard we’re going to be kicking  _a lot_  of tail on this mission.”

“This isn’t the sort of endeavor you’ve become accustomed to in the Academy,” Winter said, a slight edge to her voice as she stepped up on Yang’s other side. “You’ll do well to remember that. The threat we are combating won’t give much room for error, so take it seriously.”

Before she could say anything, the scent tickling her nose prompted Yang to inhale, a frown coming to her lips. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised; of the four newest members to their ragtag crew, two were Omegas and the other Beta, but the woman standing before them reeked of an Alpha’s potent scent. Much like Weiss objected fiercely to Ruby being designated their team leader, Alphas tended to challenge each other when joining a new social group, establishing a hierarchy that never failed to confuse Betas and Omegas, who tended to work well with just about anyone. 

Then again, it could easily be the presence of other military members that set Winter on edge, especially with the unspoken knowledge that these four had Ironwood’s express consent to join the fight while the woman beside her had to abandon her post entirely.

Stryker put up her hands, not seeming concerned by the aggressiveness. “Too easy, Specialist. The last thing we want to do is put anyone in jeopardy through incompetence or laziness.” She gestured towards the rest of her team. “I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we look forward to working with you all in training and in battle.” Deep brown eyes, so dark they may as well be black, landed on Yang. “Some more than others.”

The wink that followed made her raise a brow. If she was of any sort of importance to Winter- a bonded mate, or even a temporary one- that would be a highly provocative gesture, one that would be hard to hold against the Alpha if she took it as a slight.

However, seeing as she was nothing more than a comrade in arms, Yang offered a brief chuckle. “Hope you have the stamina; we’ve been at this a while. Might take some time for you to catch up.” She turned, not very concerned about how Stryker might take that as she held out the game. “By the way, here. Figured you’d want it back.”

She didn’t look the woman in the eyes- probably should’ve, but she was being a coward and the less she showed how broken up she was about the whole mess, the better for everyone- but saw the way the Alpha’s posture stiffened slightly before she sharply turned towards the door, just as it opened for Jaune, Ren, and Nora to enter. “Keep it. I should begin plotting our course and don’t need the distraction.”

As she brushed by them, Jaune gave Winter a curious look, lowering his voice as he approached the others. “What’s her problem? She’s moody but not usually  _this_  moody.”

“I’ll thank you to keep your rude remarks regarding my sister to yourself, Jaune.” Weiss snapped, fixing the man with a cold glare that had him hunching his shoulders. “We’re preparing to move out soon; as our designated pilot, she has her hands full being of use.”

“I’m getting better.” He weakly defended, gaze lowering in the way it always did whenever Weiss bristled like that. She still hadn’t forgiven him for practically throwing himself at her during their early days at Beacon and Yang couldn’t rightly blame her, though now she had a bit of a firsthand understanding of what he was feeling at the time. How ironic. “But, uh, I guess you guys are joining us, too?”

“Yeah, we’re Team SNOW.” The woman glanced at him, Nora, and Ren before an easy smile curled her lips. “Back over here we have Nigel, Oswald, and Wisteria. I’m Stryker.” Introductions continued, with slight confusion splaying across the newcomers’ faces when Jaune and Ruby identified themselves as the leaders of their respective teams- or, in Jaune’s case, former leader. “Wait, Beacon doesn’t have Alphas as team leaders?”

“It surprised me as well,” Weiss replied, the Atlas native throwing a small smile at her partner. “However, I’ve come to see that there’s a bit of wisdom in the practice. For the most part.”

“Uh huh.” Stryker nodded, though it showed plain in her face that she didn’t  _quite_ understand. “And, uh, what makes you the ‘former’ team leader, anyway?”

“Oh, well, with Oscar being… like… basically Ozpin.” The Omega shivered slightly, which Yang honestly understood. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about the whole 'headmaster now living inside some kid’s head’ thing, either. “We figured he’d be better at the whole coordination thing.”

“We’re team ORNJ now!” Nora laughed, quieting down to tap a finger against her cheek thoughtfully. “Which, honestly, sounds better than team JNRR anyway, though I’m still not sure if that’s how it’s supposed to work, rearranging letters and stuff, but I guess it doesn’t really matter now that we’re not in school anymore. I mean, it’s cool having a team name and all, but it’s still pretty weird referring to ourselves like that, especially when we usually fight together-”

“Nora,” Ren said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We should probably help them find lodging.”

“Oh! Right.” She smiled, nodding towards the door. “We can help you pick out  _the best_  rooms. We’ve been all over the ship looking for cool stuff.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Stryker motioned for her team to follow, waving at the others. “Nice meeting you all!” Brown eyes landed on Yang, her lips curling into a wider smile. “And I’ll see you around.”

The Omega watched her go, thinking back to her time before Beacon and even during the school year. Back then, she might’ve flirted in return, at least a little, but felt no need to do so now. If anything, it was likely a fluke, perhaps the woman’s quirky way of being friendly. 

When she turned back to her teammates, she noticed the slight worry in her sister’s expression and the pinched annoyance on Weiss’, the Alpha opening her mouth before being silenced by a look from Blake.

“They seem… like an interesting group,” she said, choosing her words carefully as her ears flicked in annoyance. “I hope their presence makes things easier on the rest of us. We’ve got a long fight ahead.”

“That’s fine.” Yang scoffed, cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders. “I’ll take a long battle over sitting around doing nothing.”

“Sis, are you alright?” Silver met lilac, concern flashing across the younger woman’s face. “You’ve been kinda avoiding everyone.”

_No, I’m not, and being around Weiss and Blake is just making it worse._

“I’m fine.” She did her best to flash Ruby a smile. “Just trying to get back into the swing of things. You know how my heat knocks me off balance.”

“Yeah, but… you don’t usually shut yourself in your room after heat.”

“Things change, Rubes.” Yang turned, heading towards the door. “I’m going to go train some more. My timing’s still off.”

She could hear something muttered low, a warning from Blake to keep her mate in check, and it seemed to work seeing as Weiss didn’t try to stop her. 

Instead of sticking around to play twenty questions about exactly how  _not_  okay she was, Yang went down the stairs, heading to the lower decks and cursing herself the whole way because she had no intention of going to train. While some part of her felt grateful Weiss hadn’t said anything about her disaster of a heat, another part wished everyone knew just so they wouldn’t ask, and yet another part hated that she now had to walk on these eggshells, too. Just being in the same room as Winter made everything difficult, and the close proximity of a newly minted bond stung almost as bad, but she had to put all that aside.

It didn’t matter. She didn’t want a mate, she didn’t need a mate, and she didn’t care that Winter rejected her.

Yet, when her feet finally brought her to a stop, she found herself standing in front of the Chief Engineer’s quarters, biting her lip and trying to resist the temptation. After she’d left the last time, she hadn’t been back, but now… she found herself unable to resist slipping into the room. 

Everything looked just like she’d left it except the bed, which had been made recently, with the extra blankets neatly stacked on top. Probably Weiss trying to be helpful in some manner- and she felt a brief flare of panic that she’d washed the blankets, removing any chance that their scents might’ve lingered. However, once she got close enough, she could smell the arctic bite of Winter just beneath her own, dull but still there.

Grabbing one of the blankets and throwing it around her shoulders, Yang sat down on the bed and turned on the game.

In her mind, she promised this would be the last time she’d subject herself to this torment.


	4. Competition

Yang leaned back against the wall, arms crossed over her chest with Blake and Weiss beside her while Ruby stood in the middle of the loading bay. Across from her in their make shift ring was Nigel, who seemed more than a little apprehensive about facing off against the young woman hefting the huge sniper scythe like it was nothing. The twin SMGs in his hands didn’t seem like they’d be capable of standing up to the cutting edge of Crescent Rose, even if he did combine them into their pole ax form.

“Okay, so! We’ve got about three days before we disembark to infiltrate the northern base. Before then, we’d better get some practice in working with each other,” Ruby said, the cheer in her voice grating on her sister’s nerves. Most of it came from sheer impatience, wanting to be the first one to fight just to keep the thoughts at bay. “We’re going to start with some one-on-one drills, and then some cooperative ones against hard light opponents and Weiss’ summons. Sound good?”

“Uh, couldn’t we do some old-fashioned, ‘two truths one lie’ bonding instead?” Nigel offered with a weak smile.

While the rest of his team laughed, Yang shook her head. “This guy’s supposed to be a solider?”

“It takes all types, Yang,” Blake replied, nudging her shoulder lightly. “And we played that game the day after initiation.”

She winced, opting to remain silent rather then dredge up any more memories from their time at Beacon. As the battle began, she had to admit that she’d judged him a little too harshly; the young man displayed a genuine amount of skill and focus as he reacted to her sister’s fighting style. It actually took Ruby a solid minute to land a hit, sending him sprawling and taking a chunk out of his aura level in the process. They wouldn’t be able to push each other as hard as they had in school, where their recovery time could be easily monitored and adjusted, but he still had some fight left in him.

With the gunshots to cover their conversation, Yang glanced at her partner and cleared her throat. “Congrats. By the way.”

At first, the Faunus raised a brow before seeming to sense why the blonde was so terse. “Thanks. I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to tell you.”

“It’s whatever.”

“No, it’s not,” Blake replied, and she could see how her partner turned to look at her from the corner of her eye. “Yang, I know you’re going through a rough time right now and I’m sorry for the part I played in it. I never meant to hurt you again.”

She sighed, turning to meet those concerned amber eyes. “Oh, come off it, Blakey. This isn’t your fault, same as before. We’ve talked about this.” Shaking her head, the blonde glanced away a moment before returning her lilac eyes to the Faunus beside her. “Look, I’m not mad I went into heat. It was bound to happen eventually and better last week then in the near future, yeah? And it could’ve been worse, so it was probably for the best.” A frown touched her lips and she looked away. “It’s just reality. Face it, Blake. I’m not mate material anymore. That’s… that’s just how it is. I’ve accepted that.”

“You’re lying through your teeth right now.” The Faunus’ voice became tight, her volume lowering to keep everyone else unaware of her anger. She didn’t have the same inscrutable mask the Schnees favored but she kept her ears up and her face smooth, leaving her eyes and voice to convey the emotions, something they did all too well as Yang could practically feel her partner’s heated stare boring a hole through the side of her head. “Did you talk to Winter about this? Did  _she_ say any of this?”

“I got mounted and I have no mark to show for it; does she really have to put it into words?” Her left hand slid down, grip tightening on the metal of her prosthetic. “We already talked about it. I told her I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have bitten her.”

“Yang.” A hand laid on her shoulder, pulling her gaze back to Blake. “Did you mean it? The mark?”

She wanted to look away and deny it but… she couldn’t. From one Omega to another, between partners, she could admit the truth just once. “Yeah, I… I did.” Her shoulders fell and her gaze dropped. “I dunno why I thought… I just… in the moment, it felt mutual, ya know? But I was wrong.” Shaking her head, Yang shoved everything aside, drawing herself up to her full height. “None of it matters now anyway. In a few days, it’ll be like nothing happened.” Her lips turned down at the corners. “And to her, nothing did.”

With a thump, Nigel landed flat on his back, breathing heavily and staring at the ceiling while Ruby stumbled away, hefting Crescent Rose with only a small wince. “Okay! So! That was pretty good!”

“Lady, you got a funny definition of 'good’,” Oswald said, smirking and cracking his knuckles. “Guess I’m up next?”

“Stand down, O-man. I want the next fight.” Stryker called out, heading over to help her teammate up while carrying her over sized, serrated falchion with the other hand, resting the flat back of the blade against her shoulder.

“Oh, great!” Ruby laughed, collapsing her own weapon down and storing it on her back. “I’m sure Weiss would-”

“Actually, I think I’d like to have a go at Yang.” The blonde’s eyes snapped to the Alpha’s. “What’d'ya say, Blondie?”

Yang furrowed her brows, her frown growing more severe. Well, she wanted in on the action, but she had a feeling the woman wasn’t going to take her seriously as a combatant. No better time to disprove that than now, she supposed, though Blake quickly grabbed her arm when she pushed off the wall.

“Maybe it isn’t such a good idea, fighting an Alpha straight off the bat.” The Faunus’ ears twitched, as if she had more to say but chose to keep it to herself, and that had the woman gritting her teeth in barely contained frustration.

“Winter rejected  _me_ ; if she wanted a say in who I’m around, she missed that chance.” With a jerk of her shoulder, she pulled herself free of Blake’s grip, Ember Celica expanding to cover her forearms in the next moment. “And I don’t want a mate anyway.”

If she said it enough, she’d believe it.

It was an old fashioned tradition- and one she’d rather liked- for mates to pit their strength against each other as a sign of trust. Back in the day, it arose out of practical necessity; everyone had to fight to keep the Grimm at bay and everyone needed a training partner. Most often, Alphas were too protective of their mates to stay on the sidelines and Omegas often faced the same problem, the former rushing in to beat back an attacker while the latter would defend their mate from any foe. Betas tended to control themselves a little better but they felt the inclination, too, and often lept into the fray themselves. During their time training together, she’d somehow tricked herself into thinking Winter saw their bouts as something similar, a way of testing each other and feeling the other out. It was why she always withheld the final blow, never wanting to push too far; it wasn’t about winning or losing, it was about improving side-by-side.

That romantic streak helped land her in this situation to begin with, though, and she shoved all those thoughts aside. This was about one thing alone: fighting. They had four new comrades-in-arms to acclimate to and the sooner they did it, the better. Alpha, Beta, Omega- none of that mattered at present.

As she took her spot across from Stryker, Yang felt her entire being focus on the impending bout, all too ready to fall into the soothing rhythm of combat.

“Ready?” Ruby called out, a hint of trepidation in her voice. “Go!”

The Atlesian immediately swung her blade around, holding the grip with both hands and readying for a sweeping strike to ward Yang off. Except, she’d learned a thing or two since the Fall of Beacon and didn’t fall for the obvious advantage her weapons’ smaller size would grant her to dart in for a quick first strike. Instead, she brought her fists up, curled loosely so she could snap to defense or offense depending on the situation, and shifted her weight to the balls of her feet. So acclimated to facing off against Winter, she almost started her usual bob and weave, trying to bait out the woman’s first attack, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t take nearly so much to provoke a reaction from Stryker. Throwing a quick jab with her left, Yang shot out a single round, testing the woman’s defenses.

Rather than take the shot and shrug it off or blocking with her weapon, Stryker made a show of jumping to the side, rolling back to her feet and charging towards the blonde. A sloppy waste of energy- ducking would’ve accomplished the same thing considering how high she’d shot- but Yang set aside her mental critique to remain focused on the battle at hand. She watched the jagged edge of the blade as it swung towards her, skipping back to stay just out of reach while watching the woman’s footwork. 

She carried her momentum forward with every strike, either unable or unwilling to change course once committed, and that proved to be a weakness Yang could exploit with ease. 

The blonde bided her time, moving to keep the blade out of reach but never so far away that she couldn’t close the distance if she so desired. It almost seemed like Stryker was being intentionally ostentatious with her fighting, leaving herself far too open for someone of her presumed experience. Bearing that in mind, Yang waited for another sweeping strike before darting to the woman’s undefended side and delivering a medium strength hook to the spot just below her opponent’s ribs.

If she’d sparred against anyone else, it would be a full strength blow, coupled with the concussion of her weapon and powerful enough to send them clear across the cargo bay. This time, she gave the woman a warning shot, a bit of encouragement to take the fight seriously, and she wasn’t disappointed when Stryker rolled with the momentum and brought her sword around for a full strength counter attack. Before the Fall, she might’ve tried ducking beneath it or rolling out of the way, maybe shooting at the ground to aid in her escape, but now Yang merely set her feet and raised her right arm, allowing the prosthetic to act as her shield. 

It had taken months of training to become accustomed to the idea that the flimsy bit of metal fed by her aura would ever be as good as flesh and blood, but she’d come to rely on the construction as her fighting style changed. The teeth of the falchion tried hard to gouge into the metal but her aura flared, reinforcing the artificial limb as she absorbed the shock of the blow without budging an inch. 

The sudden, jarring impact threw the Atlesian off, her own footing shifting to maintain her balance as eyes opened wide.

Deciding to send the message loud and clear, Yang quickly rotated her prosthetic arm in a circular outward motion, shock having made Stryker’s stance too weak to prevent her blade from being moved and trapped between the blonde’s arm and body. With that threat effectively neutralized, she shifted her hips and threw her weight into the motion while slamming her left hand against the side of the blade, turning a quick half circle and dragging Stryker with her until her grip gave out, separating the soldier from her weapon as she went sprawling. Although disarming her opponents typically fell outside Yang’s forte and style, working with her father to reestablish equilibrium had given her a little insight into not always relying on her offensive strength alone. 

With a dismissive grunt, she lifted her arm and let the falchion fall to the ground.

“I can see my previous advice went unheeded.” Winter’s voice at once grated on her ears and made her heart stutter in her chest, lilac eyes quickly snapping to the door leading into the cargo bay, where everyone not already present- with the exception of Ren and Nora, likely up in the cockpit- stood, watching the demonstration with various degrees of amusement. None could be found in the Alpha’s expression, though, arms clasped behind her back as she tilted her chin up a little. “You’re not taking this seriously. You have joined forces with survivors of the Fall of Beacon, individuals who are well and above what  _your_ skill level was when you were their age.” She paused, gaze landing on Stryker as she pushed herself to her feet. “And perhaps even now.”

“Well, pardon me, Specialist.” Stryker growled, raising her chin defiantly. “Perhaps you’d like to show us how it’s done?”

Yang’s shoulders tensed. Immediately, she wanted to shoot the proposal down; not only did she not want to be used in a territorial power play between two Alphas, she didn’t really want to spar against Winter again, not so soon. Being in close proximity hadn’t started feeling normal yet, not enough time had passed to take away the sting, and she didn’t trust herself not to get distracted or, worse, betray her own turmoil in the middle of the fight. 

However, after the initial panic passed, she acknowledged that there seemed to be no easy way to get over her heartache, but the unpredictable rhythm of battle had always helped her sort through her thoughts. 

Yet again, fighting against Winter… it still seemed like too big a risk to take.

“Do you honestly need a visual demonstration?” Winter’s tone, cool and crisp and dripping with well earned condescension, cut through her thoughts. “I’d thought you were trained better.”

“Apologies, Specialist.” The other Alpha gave a salute, though the lazy execution conveyed a distinct level of mockery. “I didn’t realize you’d retired from the front lines.”

The words pricked at Yang’s pride. Were they mates, it would be well within her right to step in and offer her own opinion. Despite lacking that distinction, though, she’d still chosen Winter as a mate, she’d been willing to bond with the woman, and the insinuation that the Alpha couldn’t back up her word with skill angered the Omega. 

Many things she would let slide, but not that.

“She’s just trying not to embarrass you,” she said, taking a few steps forward and then turning around, ensuring Stryker was only able to see her side and not her back. Raising her fists, she resumed her ready stance, lilac eyes falling on Winter. “But I like to actually break a sweat during training.”

The Alpha remained silent for a moment before sighing, striding forward purposefully. “I would hate to waste your time. I trust the rest of you will be paying attention.”

“Absolutely,” Stryker replied, obviously miffed by Yang’s dismissal, but the Omega didn’t rightly care.

She watched as Winter pulled her blade free of her hip, hitting the button that separated her dagger out before the battle even began. To some extent, that mollified Yang’s wounded pride a little; if nothing else, the woman at least saw her as a competent combatant, warranting none of the beginner tricks that she so often played on others. 

They’d sparred against each other enough that it seemed only natural to start near the top of their respective abilities, and the Omega repaid the gesture in kind, clenching her right fist harder to activate the plate in her palm, red dust threading between the grooves in preparation for her first strike with her prosthetic. From the corner of her eye, she could see the worried look on Ruby’s face, barely assuaged by her decision to allow the display to continue.

“Ready? Go!”

No hesitation, no breaks- Winter flew forward, sped along by her glyphs, and Yang could hardly blink before both of her arms shot out to block the Alpha’s first few blows. Sparks flew as metal met, her opponent not bothering with the test of strength and instead flipping her blades around to try from a different angle. Their sparring sessions usually came to this in one form or another- the flash of steel as Yang defended herself, throwing the occasional jab to create distance and waiting for the right moment to strike. She couldn’t allow Winter to create too much distance, though, or allow either of her weapons to remain free, because the moment she did, a white Beowulf or Nevermore would come bursting to life from a glyph to harass her, and then she’d be defending herself twice over with little to show for it. 

Instead, she had to balance remaining within striking distance with defense, all too aware that the biting edge of either blade would be enough to weaken her defenses, and throwing a punch where she could. They hardly ever landed, the woman’s quick movements and incredible flexibility merging with the grace of a dancer, and any time it looked like she might’ve robbed her opponent of her sure footing, a glyph would appear to stabilize her.

They traded blows for a few minutes, shuffling back and forth, before the woman made to retreat, aided by her glyphs, and Yang immediately gave chase with a burst from her left gauntlet. The moment her foot hit the ground, though, she turned her body, right fist cocked back and ready to unleash the first in her counter offensive even as a summon began to take form just out of her direct line of sight. She threw every ounce of her weight behind the blow, but the telegraph was too obvious, allowing Winter to dodge; it worked out well, allowing the Omega to spin and slam her fist into the side of a Beowulf’s jaw, it’s gaping maw disintegrating with the rest of its body as the one strike managed to dispel it entirely, a wreath of flame issuing from the line of her knuckles and scorching the floor. 

Usually, the heat would force Winter to take a moment and collect her bearings, but this time she seemed to press forward regardless of the sweltering temperature, flipping the shorter blade in her off hand around and beginning a series of strikes that had Yang twisting to keep her prosthetic between blade and flesh, blocking each blow until she could press forward, lowering her shoulder to deliver a devastating uppercut with her left that just barely clipped the Alpha’s chin.

Had the hit landed solidly, it probably would’ve taken a chunk of aura and significantly impaired Winter’s senses for a moment. As it stood, her head snapped back and the rest of her followed in a fluid backflip that might’ve looked to the naked eye like she’d avoided the blow entirely, landing in a crouch and shooting forward in the next moment to attack again. Always aggressive, always pushing every defense Yang had- she could feel the sweat accumulating on her brow and rolling down her spine as she worked to block and bob and weave, the sounds of gunshots ringing through the air as she used her blasts to either avoid, close, or disperse yet another summon. 

The longer the fight wore on, the more glancing blows got through her defenses, and the more strikes she landed in turn. On the one hand, she probably had more stamina, and blow for blow could last longer if each one landed, but Winter knew her weaknesses a bit too well, never hitting hard enough for her semblance to flare bright. The Alpha would bleed her dry with papercuts before being foolish enough to try and win a contest of brute force, and both of them could sense the tipping point approaching.

She’d somehow managed to land a solid punch against the woman’s left side with her right, hampering her movements slightly, but Yang had gone on the offensive too often in order to get that, allowing a bit of her hurt to spur her forward. The Omega’s aura was likely dangerously close to having the fight called, so the next time Winter retreated, she flicked her right wrist and cycled to yellow dust, lightning arcing along her prosthetic and she shot forward, ready to land the last blow. A white Beowulf blocked her path for a moment, but she jumped up and over it, spinning around so she could bring her fist down on top of the Alpha. At least, that’s what it looked like she planned to do, but a shot from her left pushed her past Winter, allowing her to whirl around.

Fist cocked back, feet planting themselves as her hips twisted, Yang had every intention of following through and delivering the strike that she’d always held back in every previous bout. She couldn’t impress the woman, couldn’t sway her, so why not release the rage and anger and hurt in a decisive way?

Yet, her body went stock still, fist still a good half foot from making contact and cackling with undischarged lightning.

She couldn’t do it. 

It had nothing to do with the pragmatic concerns, that they shouldn’t be pushing each other this hard considering the stakes; she  _couldn’t_ take the last blow and potentially insult the woman. Winter had taken it easy on her, remaining on the ground rather than forcing Yang to deal with an aerial opponent; this wasn’t about trying to outdo the other or prove who was stronger.

It was  _never_ about that.

Chest heaving and blinking sweat from her eyes, Yang noticed that the Alpha hadn’t bothered turning around fully, only barely looking back at her out of the corner of her eye and over her shoulder. 

Then, she noticed that Winter had flipped her sword around so that it protected her back, anticipating the attack and prepared to use the flat of her blade to knock aside Yang’s fist. She could’ve easily dropped down, pushed her shoulder into the Omega’s gut and flipped her using her own momentum, but she’d held back as well.

“Holy shit,” someone said, and with her heart beating so loud in her ears, Yang couldn’t properly tell who the voice belonged to, but that  _didn’t matter_.

Haltingly, she drew her fist back, gulping in as much air as she could manage while Winter straightened up, blue eyes scanning over her form. “Are you hurt?”

“Sore, but fine,” she replied, both hands still curled into fists. Talking to the woman shouldn’t be this hard, shouldn’t feel like a thousand claws digging into her chest to rip out her heart, but there it was; they were comrades and nothing more. “How’s your side?”

“I’m quite certain it’ll bruise.” The woman offered a small smile. She probably meant the comment in a kind way, acknowledging the strength it took to leave any sort of mark without breaking someone’s aura first. In combat, very few could pull it off, and the only exception that existed adorned Blake’s and Weiss’ collarbones- mating marks, which seemed to fly in direct defiance of aura and science.

The reminder stung.

“It’ll fade,” she said, sourness infecting her tone as she turned on heel and started walking away. “Just like before.”

Shame and self loathing rose within her again, making bile appear in the back of her throat. Tears threatened to fall but she forced them back; this wasn’t about anything other than getting back to normal and she’d likely have to face off against the Alpha several more times before she would stop acting like a kicked puppy.

Her feelings  _didn’t matter_.

With a quick motion of her right arm, the lightning that had remained trapped in her artificial limb discharged in a bright flash, leaving the whole thing smoking lightly. Yang reclaimed her spot beside Blake, ignoring the worry shining bright in amber orbs and crossing her arms over her chest. The metal felt hot against her skin but she wouldn’t budge, wouldn’t show an ounce of her inner turmoil.

“I’ll trust that served as sufficient proof,” Winter said, her voice as steady as ever. She stood facing her countrymen, hands clasped behind her back and appearing for all the world like she hadn’t spent the past several minutes fighting a battle that ranged all over the enclosed space. How the woman could so consistently resume her normal poise would forever confound the Omega… even if she did still admire it. “They may be taking it easy on you for now but you’ve still much to learn in the way of real world application of your techniques before you can hope to match them. There is a distinct difference between being graduated and being blooded; remember that you haven’t earned the second title yet, and  _they_ have. You’ll learn much more that way.”

Apparently through with her lecture, the Alpha turned, missing the glare thrown at her back by Stryker and heading straight for the doors leading back into the ship. With only a bit of trepidation, Ruby cleared her throat, trying to resume the training by calling out Oswald and Blake, pitting the Omegas against each other. Probably a good idea, considering the way Weiss’ jaw immediately clenched, blue eyes riveted to her mate’s back as the combatants prepared to face off. Yang trusted the Alpha’s restraint but, considering the demonstration previously, some part of her worried how far everyone would push before someone snapped.

“So… you and the Ice Queen, huh?” She sighed through her nose, turning her head slightly to see Qrow leaning back against the wall beside her, the smell of whiskey heavy on his breath. It really shouldn’t surprise her that the 'errand’ he’d ran involved replenishing his liquor supply. “You two make a good pair.”

“You hate her,” she replied, turning her attention back to the fight. Unlike the previous two rounds, Oswald and Blake seemed to be decent matches, combining long range and short range attacks effectively. Where her partner had flexibility and her clones for distractions, her opponent had a good amount of brute strength and determination, not to mention a surprisingly solid stance. No matter what, Blake couldn’t seem to get around his guard, his movements even faster than Ruby’s- no, wait. 

Yang squinted, focusing intently on his shield arm. It seemed to flicker from one position to the next- an illusion semblance, forcing Blake to aim for a target that might not even be there. Clever.

“I don’t  _hate_  her.” He puffed out a bitter laugh. “Let’s just say, she reminds me of someone I used to know. It sucks being trapped in a memory by yourself.” Red eyes glanced her way. “Feel like you probably know how that feels.”

“You’re doing great at this pep talk thing, by the way.”

“This ain’t a pep talk. It’s a 'pull your head outta your ass’ talk.” He straightened up, reaching up to the collar of his shirt and tugging it aside, putting the mark there on display. Yang had seen it before, briefly, but never learned who gave it to him or how long he’d walked around with a mark and no mate, just a ghost he tried to drink away the same as his semblance. “You’re not stupid enough to end up like me, Yang, so stop acting like it. When this war’s said and done, you’ve gotta find a way to keep going. Hell, even now, you can’t just  _give up_  again, alright?” He straightened up his shirt, scratching at the hollow of his jaw. “Way I figure it, either you need to get back with her or move on. Walking around pissed off every day of your life ain’t gonna cut it.”

“Guess that decision was made for me then, huh?” Yang pushed away from the wall and turned, stalking off towards the cargo bay exit. “I’m done listening to this.”

Maybe she couldn’t stay angry at herself forever- it might die out eventually- but listening to her uncle try and smooth this over… she didn’t know what happened to him because he wouldn’t tell her. Far be it for her to feel guilty over a story she didn’t know; she’d done that for enough years already.

His point remained, though. She couldn’t keep sniping at Winter to soothe her wounded pride and broken ego. The feelings weren’t mutual and that wasn’t anyone’s fault- she couldn’t demand that the Alpha return them for her sake.

“Yang.” She stopped, looking back at Weiss, whose own gaze remained riveted to the ongoing battle. “Why didn’t you use your semblance?”

“She didn’t hit me hard enough,” the Omega replied, furrowing her brows slightly. That much should’ve been obvious.

“You’ve been stomping around, angrier than a hornet’s nest for the past week, and bleeding it off through your solo training hasn’t quite done the trick.” Blue eyes flicked over to her, and it should be uncanny how much she resembled her older sister but that never seemed to strike Yang quite as hard as it should. Perhaps it came down to how they’d met or the months spent at Beacon, but she could always clearly separate the sisters, just as most anyone could separate her and Ruby; their shared features always managed to look off just enough that she couldn’t mistake one for the other. “You  _should_ have more than enough fire coursing through you to have brought a little bit of heat to the fight.”

Brows furrowed, she turned to glare at the shorter woman. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“Who’d you disappoint? Me, Winter, or yourself?” The line of her shoulders tightened as Weiss turned her attention away from the fight, setting her hands on her hips. The Alpha looked her up and down, expression pinching into one of minor annoyance. “Given the state of your clothes, I’m leaning towards the latter. Seriously, when was the last time you showered?”

She opened her mouth to snap back with a response but the words caught in her throat. Instead, she shook her head. “Look, if you’re just going to give me a hard time-”

“You’re doing that well enough, don’t you think? Beating yourself up on the inside.” The Alpha held her gaze, seeing if she’d balk, but Yang had both hands clenched into fists and her jaw set, just barely restraining herself. “Really, I wish it was more difficult to read your mind recently, but you might as well be putting everything up in neon lights!”

“What. Do you want. From me?” She could feel the red swirling into her eyes, fire burning in her blood as her anger began to boil. First Blake, then Qrow, and now Weiss- would there be no end to this torment? How many times would it be shoved in her face? “What’s it gonna take?”

They stared each other down and though a little voice whispered in her ear that she should avert her gaze, she refused. Weiss had her mate and the Omega  _refused_ to let herself be swayed again, beholden to her instincts when only her sense had any merit left. She’d known from the beginning her heat was doomed and she’d let useless emotions and hope convince her otherwise. 

That mistake she wouldn’t-  _couldn’t_  make again.

“Stand by your team,” the woman said, even as Ruby called an end to the match. “And when you stumble, let us help you up. That’s what we’re here for- and this time, we  _will_  be here. Don’t shut us out.”

Blue eyes shifted to focus on Blake, who seemed to be working out her left wrist while exchanging a friendly handshake with Oswald. For his part, he seemed winded but in high spirits, and seeing as the only one to perform notably poorly was their team leader, Yang couldn’t help but wonder how much longer until tensions began to rise on Team SNOW. 

Considering how many times Stryker had looked her way since the end of her spar against Winter, she could only imagine how bruised the other woman’s ego was; hopefully, her team would find a way to sooth the injury rather than exacerbate it.

“So, that just leaves Wisteria and Weiss!” Ruby called out, a cheery smile curving her lips. “After this, we’ll go grab some food and talk about ways to improve.” Silver eyes darted around the cargo bay before she cleared her throat, not a soul meeting the proposal with anything other than resigned acceptance and putting a dent in her pep. “Uh, on second thought, food in an hour, free time until then?”

“That sounds perfect,” Weiss said, flashing a smile at her partner while taking Myrtenaster in hand and settling into her stance. “Ready when you are.”

Wisteria pulled her whip free, the coils unfurling while the metal chain on the very end hit the ground with a sharp  _chink_ , and nodded.

“You looked good fighting Winter.” Blake’s voice pulled her attention away from the impending fight, not that she was very invested for the combat’s sake.

The blonde could see Stryker’s pouting in her peripheral while looking at the fight and it made her feel a bit smug; that’s what she deserved for daring to imply Winter was anything less than an expert in combat. “I still feel a little off balance.”

“Balanced enough to toss that Alpha aside like she was nothing,” the Faunus said with a forced chuckle, biting her lip the moment after. “You… think she’s going to give you trouble?”

“Nah.” Lilac eyes darted across the cargo bay, briefly catching Weiss and Wisteria trading plumes of fire before focusing on the grumpy Alpha for a moment. “I think it’s just a military thing. She’s got something to prove; it has nothing to do with me.”

When she looked back at her partner, the disbelief was written plainly in her expression. “She’s obviously interested in you.”

Yang shook her head, ignoring the worrisome crack of lightning that issued from Wisteria’s whip. “Stryker’s interested in getting one over on Winter. I’m just the person who can give her that.”

It should’ve stung, but it didn’t; no one would be sincerely interested in her, and she’d gone through quite enough to cement that fact in her mind. At the very least, she had no illusions about the Alpha’s intentions, no way she could possibly misinterpret that flirtatious tone of their first meeting or the cocky banter before their bout. 

It perhaps served as the only category in which Stryker could conceivably beat out Winter.

“As long as you’re aware, Yang.” Her partner sighed, obviously treading a fine line between pushing too hard and not far enough. “About what you said earlier… for what it’s worth, I don’t think Winter sees it as nothing.”

She almost snapped out a response, anger flashing through her, but somehow managed to keep the words in check. Blake was trying to help but it just made the pain worse, images flashing in her mind. 

Dutiful Winter, trying so hard to toss her base nature aside and be the pragmatic soldier- she hadn’t quite succeeded in remaining entirely detached and likely saw that as a failure of some sort, as if resisting the call of an Omega in heat remained something any Alpha could do with enough determination. 

“Maybe. Doesn’t change the facts though.” She mumbled. “We don’t… see each other the same.”

The Faunus sighed. “If you say so.”

That seemed to be as far as Blake was willing to push at the moment, relenting to the other Omega’s stubbornness. Personally, Yang believed her to be trying far too hard for something that would never happen. Even if she somehow magically could be around Winter without feeling like her heart was about to be ripped from her chest, things would never be like they were before, that mutual respect and trust that came so easily when they trained against each other laying in fragments around her mind. She’d wanted Winter to see her as something more than her sister’s teammate or an Omega who had failed in the one moment when triumph was paramount.

As lilac eyes returned to the battle before them- Wisteria’s dust whip certainly had versatile uses but Weiss hadn’t even seen fit to try summoning yet, though her defense seemed hardly able to keep up- Yang’s mind wandered through her memories, sifting through the days after reuniting with her team. Between working through Blake’s lingering guilty looks at the prosthetic replacing her lost arm, Weiss’ erratic mood swings between unrelenting joy at their reformation as a team and the constant need to live up to her own impossible expectations, and Ruby hitting her emotional limit and unloading all the fears and insecurities that were born that fateful night as Beacon fell, Yang had enough things to focus on that shoving her own problems aside had come naturally, but her time spent training with Winter brought a different sort of liberation. 

She’d never met the woman properly before the Fall and had no memories to compare against when it came to their battles. The Alpha didn’t have a picture in her mind of how Yang used to be, treating their every interaction the same, and with that came a strange sort of comfort. None of Blake’s babying her, or Weiss’ razor edged concern, or Ruby’s worries; just the rhythm of the fight and a new bar to surpass, a new challenge to overcome. As much as she’d come to rely on her team like she did before, she couldn’t escape the memories of their days at Beacon, when everything felt simple and straightforward. 

With Winter, she’d had that again- no complicated, painful goodbye to mar their time together.

Well, not until recently, at least.

Beyond the gratefulness she felt for having a glimmer of that old mindset back, she’d started to fall in love with the woman’s poise, her quiet but forceful demeanor, her unrelenting pressure and passionate defense. Winter could be calm as a placid lake or as angry as a hornet’s nest and anywhere in between, just as emotive as her sister but requiring a bit of finesse to coax it out. The Omega thrived during the times she could do such, because it seemed like the woman genuinely found her puns amusing and listened whenever she got started on a story, even the ones she obviously embellished. 

Perhaps she’d tricked herself into thinking polite interest meant something more, that a compliment about her style or strength weren’t just methods of improving her morale. Maybe Yang’s attention wasn’t the reason the Alpha would tell stories from her early days in the Atlesian military or her own Academy days.

It seemed possible that every interaction had only existed in her head as something more than a comrade in arms interacting with another. She’d wanted to believe, fervently, that she could be desirable… but there remained no single moment she could turn to in her recollection that displayed as much.

Yet… their little exhibition match felt so much like they always had. A good workout but not a serious threat against one another- their auras hardly ever took enough hits to be concerning, almost like they weren’t able to bring themselves to risk harming the other. They didn’t fight against each other in earnest often; if Yang wanted a real test, she’d go up against Ruby, her sister’s speed a good way to get around her heavier movements. Weiss and Blake often had to get too close to do serious damage, unless the Alpha summoned, but those tests were better served against Winter’s own summons, so that neither wasted precious aura while honing their concentration.

_Out of everyone available, I think I have the most experience fighting you, if it comes down to that._

They fought against each other most often but never hard enough… she’d obviously misinterpreted the reason for that. She thought it resembled Blake’s bouts against Weiss…

She’d thought wrong.

* * *

The fight between Wisteria and Weiss ended on an amicable note, with the Alpha using her glyphs to rob her opponent of footing and the Beta being too hard pressed to recover adequately. With Myrtenaster against her throat, Wisteria yielded, and even Yang had to admit she’d learned quite a bit from the exhibition. Team SNOW obviously had a ton of experience fighting in regulated, supervised matches, but the raw demeanor Team RWBY had adopted on their quest to defeat Salem’s agents went above and beyond what could be taught in any classroom. Loss and pain had taught them what instructors couldn’t and everyone seemed keenly reminded of how much they’d grown since their Beacon days.

Yang, however, didn’t feel nearly as optimistic despite all that. Blake and Weiss were obviously still getting acclimated to keeping their instincts in check, their fresh bond nearly pulling both into the fights. Discipline and the lack of a truly dangerous threat had kept them on the sidelines but the battlefield wouldn’t be as kind. A cry of pain, a groan of effort- it wouldn’t take much to distract one or both of them, which meant plenty more training in the days ahead. Even if they had a heading now, the time traveling to their next fight would be used honing their skills as much as possible.

That’s why the Omega found herself standing in front of the Chief Engineer’s quarters once more. This time, it wasn’t to seek out some scrap of a memory; her fight with Winter had made it clear that she needed to close the chapter on her infatuation for good. Perhaps it would get Stryker to cool her jets a little, focus more heavily on the battles ahead, and give the lot of them a clear mind. The Alpha might’ve been able to put the events behind her and move on as if nothing happened but, as long as Yang kept coming back her trying to relive something that never truly existed, she would continue feeling strange around Winter.

Best to do it quick, like ripping off a bandage. Go in, put the furniture back, take the blankets to the laundry, and wipe the slate clean. It really stood as her only option.

Yet, she hesitated.

 _What’s wrong with me?_  She frowned at the door, hands still curled into fists. Her anger at herself hadn’t abated in the slightest, despite Blake’s efforts to cajole her. At least Uncle Qrow and Weiss had kept their 'advice’ to themselves, allowing her to leave without any further conversation after the last match ended.  _Just go in and do it. You can’t keep walking around like this. You’re distracting everyone. Get your head on straight._

“Yang?” The blonde blinked, turning her head to see her sister approaching her. “You left the cargo bay pretty quick. Is everything alright?”

“It’s going great,” she replied, a sour note in her tone that made her sigh. “Sorry, Sis. I didn’t know you wanted me to hang around.”

“Well, I meant what I said about the hour downtime. I think everyone needs to get their thoughts in order.” She walked closer, and it struck her again how much Ruby had grown. Where before she’d hardly come to the Omega’s shoulder, now they were nearly eye to eye. Aside from gaining considerable combat experience during her time traveling with the broken remnants of Team JNPR, the Beta had also grown taller and leaner, the baby fat in her cheeks whittled away. But she hadn’t lost her smile. “But I wanted to check on you. We… haven’t really talked much lately.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I’ve been kinda… out of it is all.”

Silver eyes darted to the door. “Your heat really did a number on you, huh?”

Yang frowned, looking towards her feet. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“I’m sorry it didn’t go well this time. I know you really hate not having the suppressants because of how bad it gets.” She heard the contact more than felt it, her sister’s hand lightly grabbing onto the prosthetic just beneath the anchor. “We’ll try to find some next time we borrow Altesian cargo to resupply. And maybe, once this is all over, you can start looking for a mate?”

At first, she wanted to chuckle at the Beta’s concept of 'borrowing’ but felt her amusement cut by a sharp knife, brows furrowing into a scowl. “That’s not going to happen. Ruby, I know it’s hard to understand, but… that’s not in the cards for me anymore.” She lifted her right hand, tapping her thumb and forefinger together, the clinking of metal against metal echoing in the hall. “This… most Alphas aren’t going to look past this. I’m not as good as I used to be.”

“But you’re so much stronger!” She should’ve expected her gear head of a sister to see only opportunities where others saw deformity; honestly, she should probably be grateful the Beta hadn’t done something foolish to justify having one of her own limbs replaced with a weaponized prosthetic. “You’re really getting the hang of your new fighting style! I mean, the way you disarmed Stryker and moved against Winter? Even Weiss admits you’ve pushed her sister harder than she ever did! And that last battle when-”

“Ruby,” she said, trying to be forceful without betraying her anger. It shouldn’t surprise her how optimistic the Beta could be but that didn’t mean she wanted to hear any of it. “None of that matters. There’s more to life than being a Huntress. I wanted a family of my own down the line and that’s… that’s not possible now.” Yang pulled her artificial limb out of her sister’s grasp. “This thing? It’s a hunk of metal. Just because I can use it to fight doesn’t mean it replaced the flesh and blood I lost.” Lilac eyes traced along the prosthetic, her lips curled into a grimace. “Omegas are supposed to protect the people they care about most and be the gentle, supporting heart of the family. I can’t do any of that.” Metal creaked as she clenched her fist, pushing the gears to their limits. “I lost my arm because I wasn’t strong enough to defend my partner. I let you run off to fight a war alone- I practically sent you to do it. I can’t even keep from hurting  _myself_ , who’s going to trust me to hold a child, even my own?” Beneath the boiling rage coursing through her veins, she could feel the sadness, that endless pit of despair she felt so ready to be dragged back into, and refrained from doing that by the barest margins. “Sometimes, this is the hand life deals you. Literally.” She tore her gaze away, glaring at the door to the Chief Engineer’s quarters. “It’s shit and it’s terrible and it’s nothing at all like what you wanted. You just have to accept it…  _I_  just have to accept it.”

Silence descended upon the sisters, with the blonde keeping her scowling gaze focused on the door ahead of her.

“I thought you… didn’t spend your heat alone.” The younger woman spoke tentatively.

Yang winced. “It would’ve been better if I had.”

They fell quiet, the only noise being the swishing of fabric as Ruby stepped close enough to wrap her arms around her sister. The moment she registered the hug, all anger and pain fled from her system, her shoulders dropping as she glanced at the mop of hair pressing against her chin. “I’m sorry.”

With a sigh, she carefully extricated her arms and returned the embrace properly. “Don’t be. I did this- all of it, and I have to accept the consequences.”

“Well, you know you’re not alone, right?” Her sister muttered into her shoulder, squeezing tighter. “Blake, Weiss, me- we’re all here, rooting for you. Jaune and the others, too.”

“Yeah. I know.” Yang felt her lips twitch into a smile. “Tell you what. After we kick Salem’s butt, we’ll have a big party- bake a whole bunch of cookies for everyone, stay up late playing video games, and pretend like we didn’t just save the world from absolute evil. Just like old times, right?”

Ruby giggled. “It’s only like old times if you tell really cheesy jokes all night, you know.” They separated slightly, a small fist lightly knocking against her shoulder. “And for what it’s worth? You’ve always been the heart of  _our_  family.” Her smiled grew even larger. “Dad, Uncle Qrow, and I would’ve been hopelessly lost  _years_ ago without  _you_  there to set us straight!”

The Omega chuckled, shaking her head slightly. “Whatever you say, Sis.” She patted her younger sibling’s shoulder. “You should head up and grab some food, plan out what you’re going to say to everyone. I’ve… got some things to get in order first.”

“Okay. Don’t be late!” With a flick of her cloak as she turned, Ruby started towards the stairwell. “Love you, Yang! See you in a little bit!”

“Love ya too, Rubes.” She waited until the Beta disappeared before allowing her expression to fall. At the very least, her sister didn’t push too hard in reassuring her and soothing her injured pride; neither did she seem too keen on addressing Winter directly. That boded well, since it meant she could maybe put the issue to bed after this. Assure everyone she’d moved on and be done with it. Hopefully, they’d believe her.

If she was  _really_  lucky, maybe she’d believe herself, too.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Yang palmed the door open, stepping inside after another moment’s hesitation. Nothing had changed since her last visit and she did her best to breathe through her mouth as she began moving the furniture back into place. Resetting the room to its default state… it stung, slightly. Washed away any resemblance to her memories, distanced her even further from them, but that was the whole point of the exercise. Most Omegas either didn’t bother with such or would restore everything to its pre-heat state before leaving their temporary nest. Had she the choice, she would’ve left everything as it had been… but it just encouraged the emotions she needed to kill.

It took a few minutes but she managed to get everything set back against the walls. Now, all that remained to even hint that anything had happened were the blankets, still stacked and folded on the bed, save for the one she draped around her shoulders during her last visit. Tentatively, she inhaled through her nose, eyes fluttering closed as the scent filled her lungs. Hers and Winters intertwined, but not the way mates would be. The tang of salt, the sweet undercurrent of sex, coupled with their individual scents made it clear that they’d been together but that the singular occurrence remained just that. Once the sheets were washed, the scent would die out completely within a couple weeks, only discernible to those in heat and maybe Faunus. In two months’ time, it probably would be gone entirely.

Yang went and gathered them up, turning her head away so she wouldn’t be tempted… but the pain in her chest stopped her. If she washed them, it would mean the destruction of the last trace that anything existed between them, no matter how brief. As terrible as it sounded, some part of her desired a memento from it all. She had no mark, no child, no words of affirmation- just blankets drenched in the scent of herself, Winter, and sex.

_Wash them, burn them, throw them through the cargo door- just get rid of them somehow._

Lilac eyes glanced down, looking at the fabric gathered in her hands.

_As long as they exist, you’re going to remember._

With a sigh, she let them fall back to the bed. She should probably be ashamed of herself- always clinging to stupid hope when sense said otherwise- but the Omega couldn’t bring herself to destroy the last remaining proof that, for a glimmer of a moment, she’d been  _worthy_. Even without her arm, she’d been at least a warm body and a friend dear enough for the Alpha to consider easing her agony.

Yang would never have a mate… but she at least had friends.

Tears pricked at her eyes. “I’ve made a lot of dumb decisions. Might as well make one more.”

She turned, ready to finally leave the room for good- and she meant it, this time- but her feet wouldn’t cooperate. Despite having compromised so much already, she felt as if one more had to be made before she could be entirely satisfied. 

Yet, it probably remained the stupidest one she could make.

_You’re an idiot._

Growling, she turned and snatched one of the blankets from the bed, throwing it around her shoulders and marching out of the room. When the door closed behind her, she turned, punching the door control repeatedly until the metal crumpled, electricity crackling for a few moments before the whole thing shorted, the lights in the hallway flickering briefly as the door’s indicator lights all powered down. Locking it probably would’ve been the better long term plan but… no. If she happened to go into heat again, she couldn’t bear going back to that room. It would be an even greater torment that her first stint.

Yang looked left and right, clutching at the blanket and hurrying towards the stairwell. She kept her ears and eyes sharp, unable to rely on her sense of smell at all, and scurried to her quarters as quickly as possible. Once there, she closed the door and locked it, snatching up the handheld game from her dresser top and sitting down on her bunk.

“Guess picking up bad habits runs in the family.” The blonde muttered, pulling the blanket around her shoulders tighter and inhaling deeply as the game started up. 

She had about twenty minutes to kill, anyway.


	5. Specialist Yang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I mentioned at the beginning, I don’t wanna play the guessing game with canon, so here’s where I start hashing out what liberties I’ve taken to make this non-canon compliant.

The official mess was a big, spacious room down the hall on the second deck, with long tables and fixed seats. It never sat well with the majority of their ragtag group, feeling too sterile for comfort and too reminiscent of Beacon for ease, so they instead took their meals in the kitchen area, where the food actually got cooked by whoever pulled the short straw for the day. Most of their rations were the bulk, ready-to-heat style typical for Atlesian military vessels, like the spaghetti and meatballs currently being pushed around her plate by her fork. Ruby had already gone over some things to work on as teams and individuals, with all but the leader of Team SNOW taking well to the criticism. Stryker at least played the role of an interested party, though her gaze seemed to convey a level of concerted disinterest not too dissimilar from Weiss when the Beta was announced as their team leader.

Well, they had experience working with stubborn Alphas. A few good knocks and she’d figure out that the time for fun and games ended a while ago.

“Oh! And, we were able to make contact with Team SSSN!” Ruby announced with a smile that became faked the longer she spoke. “They’ll be meeting up with us as soon as possible. Might not be able to reach us before we try infiltrating the base but soon after that! They’re, uh, looking forward to seeing us again.”

Weiss and Blake exchanged a look, the Alpha’s slight frown met with an equally unimpressed raise of her mate’s brow. Ultimately, she put her hands up. “We… certainly could use the assistance.”

“And they’re reliable friends we can trust,” the Omega said, pointedly shifting in her seat and likely doing something hidden by the island they were gathered around to set the other woman at ease. “I’m sure a brief word early on is all they’ll need to focus on the mission.”

“We can certainly hope.” Weiss didn’t seem convinced and, frankly, Yang didn’t blame her; Sun and Neptune hadn’t been subtle with their advances and Blake’s extended period traveling with the monkey Faunus likely meant the newly bonded mates would have to talk about that at some point in the near future, if they hadn’t already. However, as far as Alphas went, Sun landed on the more laid back end of the spectrum, and Neptune could be an admittedly aggressive Beta but proved rather easy to discourage, seeing as he’d never really pursued any of his shameless attempts at flirting. “Do we have any other allies?”

“We’re still trying to contact Team CFVY.” Her sister frowned. “Professor Goodwitch mentioned that a lot of students stayed back to secure the evacuation for Vale, but communication across the sea is still pretty spotty at best.”

Then, Stryker decided to chime in with her first genuine comment since they’d regrouped. “You still call her Professor? This isn’t exactly a classroom, you know.”

“Showing proper respect to a more experienced Huntress trumps technicalities.” Weiss shot back, narrowing her eyes slightly. “We would show you the same courtesy…  _if_  it applied.”

A flicker of annoyance passed over the woman’s face. “Oh, great. You two have the whole ‘apple and tree’ thing going on.”

“And your entire team has the whole 'getting destroyed by people two years your junior’ thing going on. It’s a  _very_ charming theme.”

“Weiss,” Blake said, her voice neutral. It could be a warning, a reprimand, or an agreement and the majority of them would be none the wiser; only Yang could really get a read enough on the Faunus to tell the single word held more of the former and latter than the middle.

“Look, I get that we’re all getting used to each other still, but there’s way bigger things going on right now than personal differences,” Ruby said, effectively bringing the conversation back on topic. “Normally, I’d be all for duking it out until we can agree to disagree, but we really don’t have that option.” Her expression hardened, the corners of her lips pulling into a slight frown. “We need to work together, starting now. Any objections?” When Team SNOW shifted, a subtle inhalation proceeding a verbal response, silver eyes shot to the four, irises glistening just a little with untold power. She still hadn’t mastered the enigmatic abilities but they seemed to respond when she thought about certain things, so she could at least  _try_  to use them, and it had the desired effect as all movement ceased. “Let me make this  _really_ clear. We can use all the help we can get but anyone not willing to put differences aside is just going to get someone else killed in the long run.” She leaned back from the kitchen island, crossing her arms over her chest. “This… it’s all or nothing. No in between. We’ve already lost too many friends; I’m not losing any more because of dumb, petty squabbles.”

With a small sigh, Stryker nodded, making eye contact with Weiss as she spoke. “Fine. We’ll play nice.”

Almost immediately, the Alpha opened her mouth to snipe something back but a hand at her elbow stopped her, Blake’s fingers soothing the annoyance from her brow easily. Yang watched silently, abandoning any hope of finishing her spaghetti in favor of taking a few steps back and leaning against one of the refrigerators. She couldn’t imagine how soothing that must feel, having a mate’s touch to calm the storm of one’s anger; getting Weiss to drop a subject once she’d gotten started remained one of the hardest things for her teammates to accomplish, though it seemed now only the sisters were left behind in that department. She’d have to remember that the next time an argument started up about how should be doing the dishes or something.

“What was Sun and them even doing, anyway?” The Omega figured changing the subject now that everyone had agreed to cooperate would be best. Plus, she honestly didn’t know; while she was avoiding Blake and trying to figure out what she wanted to say to her partner, the monkey Faunus left on his own mission. “Visiting family?”

“Oh! Right. We should probably go over that.” Ruby turned, grabbing something from a bag she’d brought with her and unfolding it. A map of Remnant was laid down on the island after the plates were quickly cleared away. “So, according the the myths and legends that… I guess are actually true, there’s four Maidens and four Relics in Remnant, and each can harness the power of either the Light Brother or the Dark Brother.” She pointed towards Vale. “We know that Cinder stole the Fall Maiden powers in Vale and that Ozpin has one of the relics hidden somewhere on Beacon grounds. It’s why we’re trying to make contact with Team CFVY; they can retrieve it for us, since he’d removed it from the vault before Beacon fell.” Her finger trailed along the paper to Mistral. “Sun, meanwhile, took his team to try retrieving the relic from Vacuo. If we can collect all four, we can combine them and harness the Light Brother’s power to banish Grimm.”

“Wait, I thought we were fighting some sort of secret society thing?” Oswald’s expression screwed up as he looked at the map. “Why do we need to worry about the Grimm?”

Blake answered him, her expression smooth despite the hint of fear in her eyes. “We are and most of our primary enemies are flesh and blood people. Their leader, however, is some sort of combination- possibly a symbiotic Grimm that combined with a Human to create the creature we are trying to defeat. Salem doesn’t appear to have a particular power to command the Grimm, but she can summon them and her base of operations is in the center of a Grimm breeding ground.” Absently, her hand reached out, briefly touching the handle of Blush and Wilt attached to her back. Yang couldn’t help but wince, remembering all too vividly the trials they went through to gain that bit of intel. Even if she’d yet to actually draw the blade in combat, she carried it more often than not as a reminder and it never failed to pull a concerned twitch from Weiss’ brows. “If we can destroy Salem and weaken the Grimm, her pawns will fold soon after.”

“But what about these Maidens?” Nigel nodded towards Ruby. “We should try recruiting them to our side, eh? Maybe get one or two out of the remaining three to join us?”

Yang had to physically bite her tongue to keep from speaking her mind on  _that_  front.

“Finding them is the hard part,” Weiss said. “Aside from the fact they’re moving targets, the Maidens’ powers are limited to mortal fallibility the same as our semblances. Add to that we’re fairly confident that Salem  _is_  the Winter Maiden and we’ve got one person out of millions to find, and only the  _hope_ that she’ll be a Huntresses. The way the powers transfer, she could just as easily be a teenager rather than an adult warrior.”

Everyone unfamiliar with the Maidens’ story cringed at that while Yang looked away. 

Wisteria tugged on Oswald’s sleeve and he nodded slowly. “That’s only accounting for three out of four- Winter, Fall, and one other. What about the fourth?”

“The Spring Maiden won’t help us.” On top of everything else, she didn’t need to think of her mother as well, a harsh edge to her voice as she glared at him. “She doesn’t trust Ozpin and that matters more than anything else, even our lives.”

Thankfully, Ruby decided to press on quickly, a small smile directed at Oswald.

“Basically, it’s a gamble we really can’t take… and we also have to be prepared if the Maidens try to stop us.” The Beta sighed, brushing a hand through her red tipped hair. “After the debacle in Mistral, we’re probably going to be labelled threats soon; Salem has agents in every kingdom hierarchy, and they’re working against us. Revealing ourselves to people and hoping they’ll listen- it’s just going to be a bigger and bigger risk the further we pursue it. Which is why we’re going to try to find Salem’s Atlesian agent; if we’re lucky, we can draw attention towards a direct method of engagement while others find the relics. Once we have all four, we can hit Salem hard and end this, once and for all.”

Everyone nodded as a sort of firm determination settled over them, with Jaune being the one to move the proceedings along. “So, what are we going to do here in northern Atlas?”

Ruby breathed in deeply, letting out in a long sigh. “Well. That’s the fun part.”

She bent over the map again, pointing to a spot near the most northern part of inhabited territory in all of Mantle, drawing everyone’s attention to it while she explained the plan.

* * *

Yang laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She’d thought about the whole mission plan from start to finish a dozen times already, hammering her part in the whole thing home. Using the spare uniforms and equipment left aboard the ship, they would infiltrate the Atlesian base and try to find Salem’s agent. Winter and Weiss would remain back with the ship, the former Professors plus Qrow on the edge to create diversions if things got too hot, and Team SNOW would be there to walk them into the perimeter; it would be on Teams RBY and ORNJ to find the rat. They didn’t have much to go on except that this gear in the machine seemed to about as important as Cinder- an elevated pawn, but a pawn nonetheless. Winter had already given them her thoughts on who it could be and tips for what things they should seek out, but they were essentially flying blind.

The Omega didn’t like it. Too much sneaking around, too much subterfuge- she didn’t believe for a second she could fool anyone into believing she was a member of the Atlesian military and banking on a charming smile seemed like dooming them to failure. Team SNOW had agreed to help teach them basics- greetings and simple acronyms- but it seemed like they were leaving too much up to chance.

However, an open fight against a fully staffed outpost didn’t bode well, either. Qrow had managed to secure them enough dust rounds to be a good stockpile for when they launched the last stage of Ruby’s plan against Salem’s headquarters, but they didn’t have the resources to go into a full blown firefight every other day.

Something would go wrong. She could tell already; Ruby’s plans usually worked out pretty well, but her best ones were always formulated in the middle of the problem, the heat of battle, when seconds meant life or death. The rush helped her think and, while this probably constituted the best plan they’d be able to manage given the situation, it wouldn’t be until something went terribly wrong that the real plan came out.

She just had to make sure everyone made it that far.

Loud banging on her door jolted her into awareness, glaring at the entrance to her quarters and sighing. Aside from the dull drone of the engines as they pushed further north, everything had fallen silent on the ship and most everyone should be asleep, preparing for the busy day tomorrow. They had about thirty six hours to become believable soldiers; it didn’t leave much room for slacking.

With a muttered curse, she got up and went to the door, opening it and finding a scowl coming to her features.

“Hey,” Stryker said, one arm against the wall as she nonchalantly stood in front of the blonde. “Still awake, I see.”

“Very observant.” She crossed her arms over her chest, already guessing how things were about to go. “Wanna get it off your chest now or are you going to waste time trying to woo me?”

“You’re really taking the fun out of this, Blondie.” The Alpha sighed, running a hand through her hair and missing the twitch of Yang’s eye. “Look, I just figure we could help each other out here. Blow off some steam.” The blonde growled, showing her teeth a little. Not the least bit intimidated by her display, Stryker chuckled. “Oh come on! Is a little bit of mutual enjoyment too much to ask?”

“Use your hand,” Yang replied. “I’m  _not_ interested.”

“You can’t lie for shit, you know that? You’re definitely interested in a little action.” Pushing off the wall, the other woman took one step closer, nearly invading the Omega’s space. “Just… from a different Alpha.” Anger flashed across Yang’s expression quicker than she could think to stop it, her right hand shooting forward to grab Stryker’s lapel and bring her close, left hand drawing back for a punch aimed in the middle of that smug smile. She stopped before putting her fist forward, though, a twitch in her brow speaking to the effort of not immediately following through with the blow. “Touched a nerve, did I? Or is this your version of foreplay?”

“You’re really asking for a beating, you know that?” Putting the Alpha through a wall, while cathartic, most likely wouldn’t help her in the slightest. Besides that, a question burned on the tip of her tongue and she was using the majority of her energy to keep it locked behind her teeth. In the end, she couldn’t, her eyes darting away as her shoulders dropped slightly. “Am I really that obvious?”

“Not really.” Stryker shrugged, not bothering to remove the fist still holding her jacket while ticking off her fingers with every bit of 'evidence’ she’d gathered during her brief time aboard the ship. “You’re not bonded, you just came off heat from what I can tell, there’s only one Alpha you get super tense around, she seems to be avoiding you like a pack of Ursa, your entire team seems super worried about you, and you  _really_ don’t like me arguing with her.” Her eyes darted down to the prosthetic before coming back to meet lilac, raising a brow in the process. “I took a stab in the dark that you’re hung up on the Specialist and can’t get her attention. Her loss, really; Omega like you needs a more attentive Alpha. Plus, she seems like a hardass-”

“There’s  _nothing_ wrong with Winter.” With a shove, she released the woman, scowling at her with her eyes flashing red. “What’s going on between us isn’t any of your business, and I’m  _not_ interested in you.”

Catching her balance, Stryker smoothed out her jacket and cracked a smile. “Alright. But if that itch gets too bad, just come find me. I’ll scratch it for you, no strings attached.”

Not bothering to dignify that with a response, Yang hit the button to close her door and another to engage the lock, stalking back to her bed while quietly fuming. By the time she reached it, though, she had to sit on the edge, head in her hands as she sighed. Obviously, her efforts to appear unaffected hadn’t worked, and if she couldn’t fool a perfect stranger than the rest of her team had to know as well. They were likely just giving her time and space, remaining supportive without pushing her too far. She could appreciate that but she’d wished someone had told her how pathetic she was acting.

Winter didn’t want her. Pining for the woman… there were better uses of her energy.

She leaned back to flop on her bed, staring unseeing at the ceiling once more. Anger spiked and mellowed in waves over different parts of the brief interaction- the slights against Winter, the teasing that she’d normally allow from friends but not strangers, but what stuck out most was her own foolish choice of words. Like an idiot, she’d gone with 'what’s going on between us’, an entire fabrication if ever there was one and wishful thinking getting the better of her. The Omega’s propensity to go all in had created something within her mind, a give-and-take that never actually existed, and she kept buying into it just so she wouldn’t feel alone. She felt so pathetic being this broken up over the whole ordeal still. What, would she just keep wallowing in self-imposed misery until her next heat, when she’d hopefully latch onto some  _other_  shallow attraction to a comrade? How long until she started baring her throat to that- that  _cocky_ brat?

“I gotta get over her,” she said to the air, a frown tugging at her lips as she decided to turn in for the night. Yang didn’t have much confidence in the words; two weeks later and she felt pain in her chest even glancing at the woman or catching her faint scent while walking through the hallway, especially now that the familiar scent had changed.

She’d noticed it after dinner, that strange addition that said the same thing but smelled different for everyone- the clear indication that the person in question wasn’t available. For someone with a mating mark, it would be supplemented with the scent of their mate, a clear warning to any who might get too close without good reason that they wouldn’t be welcomed. However, sometimes people just… developed the marker without a scent to accompany it, either through choice or by losing the bond that accompanied their mating mark. The Omega had expected it shortly after her heat ended; her unrequited mark probably upset Winter’s body chemistry and, until it healed, the warning to others that she’d been marked would remain. Now that it had presumably disappeared, though, the fact the marker lingered worried Yang.

Just how badly had her recklessness hurt the Alpha? Or was this just the natural progression of the woman ensuring it wouldn’t happen again, consciously swearing off even the chance to appear as a mate so they wouldn’t run into another issue in the future? Considering their ragtag group consisted of mostly Omegas, Betas, and mated or otherwise unavailable Alphas, it would greatly reduce their chances of triggering another heat. It would be the pragmatic decision… which was probably why Winter made it.

Yang went through her nightly routine by rote, hardly noticing the flash of sensation as she detached her arm and set it on the dresser next to her bunk before settling down for the night. Faintly, it annoyed her that Stryker didn’t seem like the sort to remove herself from the equation for the good of the group, but she pushed the thoughts from her mind. If she focused hard enough- if she truly began to believe her own words- then her scent would change, too.

Maybe then, she could move on and leave those shattered hopes behind.

* * *

They stood in the cargo bay, wearing the uniforms fished out from the bowels of the ship while Team SNOW demonstrated simple gestures- saluting, marching, standing. It all seemed ridiculous to Yang but she paid attention as best she could, occasionally glancing towards Weiss. The Alpha had accompanied her team but the anxiety showed plainly in her features; she did  _not_ like this plan, both because it separated her from her mate and forced her to stay as far away from the action as possible. She might have a comparably weaker constitution than the rest of her teammates, but Weiss would be just as eager to throw herself into harms way to protect them.

For her part, Blake seemed nervous as well. Part of it came from having her ears exposed- not entirely abnormal for Atlesian military forces but not… exactly optimal, either- and a larger part came from sensing her mate’s emotions, her attention split between going to comfort the woman and paying attention to the demonstrations. Ruby, at least, seemed entirely invested, though the uniform made her look her age for once. That might prove a problem, though, considering the average age for new military personnel, but Stryker assured them it would be overlooked if they called her ‘baby face’ enough times.

Again, Yang couldn’t help but feel like they were leaving far too much up to chance and hoping for the best. It chaffed at her, her nose scrunching up in distaste as the Atlesians demonstrated an about face for the umpteenth time.

“Right, then, now it’s your turn.” Nigel stepped away from the others, nodding towards their students. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

One by one, they demonstrated the facing movement, until it was the Omega’s turn. She did her best but the rigidity of the motion didn’t sit well with her, and shifting her weight to one foot while turning around felt awkward with her right side being heavier.

“Try again, Yang.” Stryker called out, a crooked smile on her lips. “Unless you want another demonstration?”

“Pass.” She grumbled, trying a second time and proving no more successful for it. “Damnit.”

“You’re trying too hard,” the Alpha said, starting to walk towards her. “Do it again. But, slower.”

Blake and Ruby exchanged a look while Weiss pushed off from her spot observing, the rest of her team silently debating on whether or not to intervene. She hadn’t divulged any information about their late night conversation the night before but they could sense the tension that radiated from the blonde growing the closer Stryker came. A snarl tugged at her lips, brows furrowing as she quite nearly started chewing the woman out, but a crisp order halted her in her tracks.

“Stop.” Everyone turned to see Winter striding into the room, a duffel bag under one arm and a severe look on her features. “You’re not going to get anywhere if everyone acts like new recruits.”

Stryker opened her mouth to respond but obviously thought better of it, crossing her arms over her chest and ceasing her advance. Instead, Oswald piped up, motioning towards the bag. “So, what’s the new plan, Specialist?”

“Give some of you a bit of clout.” She dropped the bag on the ground and motioned for Blake and Ren to come closer. “Your cover story is that you’re being assigned to the base but your transport came under fire, correct? No one’s going to believe that a handful of fresh recruits managed to survive this far north on limited supplies without a superior aiding them.” Kneeling down, she pulled out coats of a slightly different style, handing them off to the two she’d called over. “These will make both of you look like Sergeants. You’re young but capable. Remember that you’re elevated above the others; act like it, and no one will question you. If anyone asks how you survived, go with your gut, seeing as both of you have experience traversing Grimm infested wilds.”

“That…  _does_ seem more feasible.” Oswald admitted quietly, looking away when Stryker glared at him. “What? Walking in with two superiors  _is_ going to bail us out a little.”

“You’ll have a better cover than that.” Winter looked over at Ruby and Jaune, grabbing something else from the bag. “You two, here: they’re Engineer tabs. Put them on your shoulders. You’ll be separated from the rest but most will assume you’re a bit eccentric and leave you well enough alone. Just steer clear of anyone else wearing tabs like these and no one else will know the difference.”

As the two started affixing the tabs to their shoulders, the Alpha pulled one last coat from the bag that looked much closer to her own. She started at it for a moment before standing. “Yang, this is for you.”

“What am I going to be?” The blonde walked over, accepting the jacket and giving it a once over. It looked like it would be a bit tight around her shoulders but, hopefully, she wouldn’t be doing much fighting in it.

“A Specialist.” The woman clasped her hands behind her back. “Specialists exist outside the normal hierarchy and we’re given a wide berth because of that. Between you, Blake, and Ren, no one will think twice about the group surviving and making it to the outpost. Your  _new_  cover story is that you’re on a mission to drop off recruits and pursue Mantle purists in the area. All questions will most likely be directed at you, since you’ll be the ranking member of the group.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Stryker rolled her eyes. “Put the Valen civilian in charge of actual Atlesian soldiers.  _Nothing_ can go wrong.”

The Omega bit her lip. As much as she wanted to glare at the woman… she  _did_ have a valid point.

“Plenty can go wrong,” Winter said, taking the criticism in stride. “And when it does, you’ll have two Sergeants who don’t care about their future careers and a Specialist who can benchpress a two ton truck.” She turned her head, favoring her fellow soldiers with a sharp look. “I realize you four have yet to spend a day in the  _real_ military, but those aspects alone can get you out of a surprising amount of situations. A few more alterations and you’ll have people  _jumping_ out of your way.” She turned her attention to Oscar, who looked decidedly less mature than the rest of them, especially in the uniform. “I trust you’ve got your own plan.”

“Uh, yeah…” He looked slightly concerned, one hand going to the collapsed cane at his hip. “It sounds risky but… if you can get us in, we’ll manage. I’ll manage. Whatever.”

The young man didn’t seem entirely convinced of that but the woman nodded regardless, looking to Nora next. “You’ll be the communications officer. It’s a fairly simple change; just tuck your lapels in and don’t stop talking once someone asks you a question.”

“Oh, I can do that!” The redhead smiled, though she tilted her head to the side. “But I can get kinda… carried away, until Ren stops me.”

“That’s precisely what I’m hoping for.” The Alpha nodded. “It will help establish Ren as your superior and I’m sure your imagination can conjure up a suitably dire situation that you lot narrowly escaped. Just make sure that no one corrects her; everything she says will be taken as truth as long as no one objects.”

“You really think they’re going to buy this?” Yang couldn’t help but ask, still holding the Specialist jacket in her hands. Especially given the confusion during Team SNOW’s introductions, she didn’t think an Omega could pass for a ranking officer in the Atlesian military.

“That comes down to you, really, and I’m confident you can pull it off.” Winter favored her with a small smile. “I’ll teach you what you need to do. In two hours, you’ll be able to fool the majority of the Atlesian military into thinking you are  _exactly_  who you say you are.”

The blonde struggled with a verbal response, at once wanting to agree, to bank on the Alpha’s confidence in her, while also wanting to vehemently disagree, not looking forward to two hours spent with the woman. It would be torture but, at the end of the day, they needed to do this, and she needed every advantage she could get. With a stilted nod, she grunted out something vaguely affirmative and followed Winter out of the cargo bay.

Once they were out in the hallway, she found her voice, though it wasn’t nearly her strongest. “We couldn’t do this back there with the others?”

“They need to be surprised by your behavior. A Specialist being attached to the transport last minute makes far more sense than one travelling with the group for a long period of time,” the woman said, leading them into one of the combat simulators. “If they appear unused to your demeanor, it will help sell the ruse.”

“Fine.” She sighed, rolling her neck. “So, where do we start?”

“The jacket, put it on.” Winter turned around to face her, adopting a rigid posture with her feet shoulder width apart, hands clasped behind her back, and chin tilted up. “You need to associate this uniform with absolute power. We exist outside the chain of command and the moments we’re subject to it are few and far between. Your mission supersedes that of others and the Atlesian military at large, no matter what it is. But you must carry yourself as if you’re constantly aware of this. You’re focused on your mission, you’re mindful of your importance, and no one save for General Ironwood himself can dissuade your from your chosen path.”

“I thought Specialists were just Hunters that decided to join the military.” The fabric felt just as heavy as the other jacket but seemed to move a little better for some reason, but it still fit her tight across the shoulders. Styled more like Winter’s, the first button sat below her diaphragm, effectively framing her chest much like her old jacket did, so she at least had that little bit of familiarity going for her. The long sleeves were a bit annoying though, and she could feel the cuffs pulling tight over Ember Celica. If she had to activate her weapons for any reason, the jacket would be a near total loss, especially her right arm. Once it sat on her shoulders well enough, she straightened up and cleared her throat. “How’s it look?”

“Rather well. It won’t draw anyone’s attention as not being made for you, at any rate.” The woman looked somewhat uncomfortable for a moment before her expression smoothed out. “And… that’s not true, about Specialists. It’s more accurate to say every soldier is trained to be a Hunter and given the option to fight only Grimm than the other way around, but we’re… highly encouraged to stay within the military system.”

Yang frowned, her brows drawing together. “That… doesn’t sound very ethical. I thought Hunters were supposed to be neutral forces, belonging to no kingdom and standing strong for Humans and Faunus alike?”

“Admittedly, it’s not. Ethical, I mean.” The Alpha sighed, shaking her head. “I realize it may sound strange, but Atlas has always been concerned with consolidating its strength as much as possible. The Academy is geared to appear like any other to the casual observer but it… decidedly favors the military, and the majority of our tactics training comes from military doctrine. The Atlesian military is the most flexible fighting force in all of Remnant,  _precisely_ because we’re training to combat both Grimm and… human adversaries.”

“And no one knows?” As much as it struck her as strange she had to admit that it made more sense; how Ironwood could spare so many ships and soldiers for the Vytal Festival without raising a ruckus back in Atlas. It probably only constituted a drop in the bucket as far as the Atlesian military was concerned and most didn’t even notice the absence. “That Atlas essentially is raising an army under the guise of protecting Remnant.”

“I suspect others  _do_ know; they just can’t prove it definitively.” She held Yang’s gaze for a long moment. “The first thing we’re taught is loyalty. It’s framed as loyalty to our team and the conditions under which we learn it are… harsh, but no more unorthodox than catapulting fresh students into a Grimm infested forest with only their weapons and wits to aid them. The lesson is burned deep and, after that, all it takes is one or two to express an interest in remaining within the military or offered placement in the Specialist program before the others follow suit. Our Hunters are usually those who couldn’t make it as Specialists but don’t work well with others either; they graduate thinking they’ve made the decision to pursue their own paths, never realizing that they only had the one open to them anyway.” Winter pressed her lips into a thin line. “Those of us who can recognize the signs of subtle manipulation remain silent out of loyalty to the system or because we truly believe it does the most good. Sometimes, it’s our only path to freedom, even if it is trading one set of chains for another.”

Suddenly, it clicked. “That’s why Weiss went to Beacon.”

“Yes,” she replied with a single nod. “She would never have reached her full potential at Atlas Academy. I embraced the system because it provided me with an escape but I never wanted my sister to follow me there.” For a moment, genuine affection shone brightly in her eyes as her lips curled into a small smile. “She’s so much stronger than I was at her age. A strong will, a strong heart…” Her expression slid back into that cold mask from before. “She would’ve seen through the guise and washed out, given subpar training and ultimately denied her dream. Or, she would’ve killed herself slowly by keeping silent and burdened with yet another set of standards she had no desire to meet.”

Yang rolled the information around in her head before she spoke. “That’s what you mean by Specialists being a big deal. They’re the best of the best, good enough for three other people to follow them into the military, so everyone’s going to see in me the reason they’re out here to begin with, an ideal they’re entirely committed to without question?”

“Precisely.”

“Alright. I guess I can get that.” She shifted slightly. “I don’t agree with it, though.” Smoothing out the jacket and trying not to wince at how weird having a sleeve around her left wrist but not her right felt, she continued. “So, should I stand like you?”

“No. Stand like  _you_.” The Alpha moved, striding around her while speaking. “Specialists are highly trained and individualistic to a fault. We wouldn’t fit into the mold of a regular soldier but we’re strong enough to survive on our own. If you buy into the lines, rather than wasting our potential, we’re utilized in this capacity; given free reign to adhere to what regulations we choose and disregard those that don’t appeal to us. It’s an enormous responsibility tempered only by our devotion to our mission.” Yang remained acutely aware of the woman’s motions as she circled the Omega, following her as best she could from the corner of her eyes. “You’re extremely driven, dedicated to your ideals, and stubborn; by all rights, you could’ve become a Specialist yourself had you grown up in Atlas.”

“Comforting,” she said, rolling her shoulders and settling for crossing her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to her left foot. If needed, she could quickly react, but she felt more relaxed now than standing flatfooted with her arms at her sides. “Basically, act like myself and if anyone looks at me funny, don’t care.”

“That’s one way of putting it.” Winter walked in front of her again. “We’ll also need to pull your hair up into a bun.”

Yang frowned. “Is that  _absolutely_ necessary?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” The Alpha looked her over. “You still look like Yang Xiao Long, the woman who broke a man’s leg on a Remnant wide broadcast. If we don’t do  _something_ to change your appearance, you’ll be recognized just as easily as Weiss or myself.”

She immediately broke eye contact, looking down at the space between him. “He attacked first.”

“I believe you.” Slowly, she looked up, finding no hint of deception in the woman’s expression. “It’s clear the events surrounding the Vytal Festival were manipulated by Salem. That’s in the past and we can’t change it; neither can we expect everyone to accept your version of the events immediately. Avoiding someone recognizing you is the best option and, trust me, once you’re sufficiently in the Specialist mindset, no one will even  _think_ to imagine what you’d look like out of uniform.” Her lips quirked up into a slightly smug grin. “The majority of Atlesian forces are rather scared of us Specialists. Once you capitalize on that, you’ll be fine.”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “So, basically, walk around like I’m the biggest badass in the room, glare at anyone who tries to stop me, and answer every question with 'classified’, and I’ll be good, right?”

“It’s a little more nuanced than that,” the woman replied dryly.

“Oh, right. I suppose I should mention my mission once or twice, too, so that  _almost_ every answer is 'classified’.”

Winter looked at her for a moment. “Wait, are you teasing me?”

The Omega cracked a small smile and shrugged. “Classified.”

For a moment, she just blinked, and then a chuckle escaped her lips that made Yang’s smile widen just a little. It felt good to see the woman in higher spirits, more relaxed and smiling. It felt like a small lifetime since she’d seen Winter smile and, despite the pain in her chest knowing this would be as close as they ever could be, it still felt good to be the cause of it.

“Well, if you’re done making light of the situation, I’m afraid we’ve gotten to the part where things are a bit more… complicated.” What little amusement had crept into her expression vanished by degrees until she had that serious look in her eyes, lips drawing into a small frown. “Specialists are generally alone for long periods of time and don’t have the same bond that other military personnel experience in units. For Alphas, this isn’t troublesome; we’re inclined to acting on our own in defense of those we hold dear. Betas are decently suited to the task as well.” She paused, as if searching for the correct phrasing. “As an Omega, this lifestyle would grate on your nerves. You wouldn’t have the team structure you’re used to, but you would still be protecting people. Omega Specialists are…” Winter sighed, reaching up to pass a hand over her face while sighing. “They can be some of the most terrifying people you’ll ever meet. I’ve met two and if I never cross their paths again, I’ll be all too grateful for it.”

Yang’s brows furrowed as she tried to search her memory. The list of people who intimidated her actually ran pretty short and, excluding Blake’s former partner- the spectre of whom still lurked in the back of her mind- very few actually scared her. She certainly couldn’t remember an Omega who’d done such; aggressive Alphas and Betas, sure, the ones who came on too strong sending an immediate spike of warning running down her spine, but she always dealt with them swiftly. In those moments, she could see where the people on the receiving end of her rage might be a bit intimidated, seeing as that was kinda the point, but imagining the circumstances that would lead her to feeling like that all the time or push her to a higher level in the first place…

And then it struck her. Those Omegas likely had to spend the majority of their service on suppressants but that wouldn’t negate the innate need for companionship. Even Blake, quiet and reserved as she was, wouldn’t be able to remain entirely solitary for long. They might enjoy their company different ways- the blonde preferred the loud and boisterous kind while her partner opted for quiet contemplation- but they both needed to be around others. Bereft of  _anyone_ , however, would be awful, and the only time she’d consciously avoided others entirely directly resulted from her disastrous heat.

They couldn’t fit into the soldier mold because they either couldn’t or  _wouldn’t_  trust others around them, so they retreated from the world. They’d be angry, resentful, caustic to any who dared interact with them.

“I’ll need to be mad the whole time,” she said, looking up to see the twinge of regret in the woman’s face. “No one wants to deal with a ticked off Omega, right?”

Maybe it counted as a low blow because she couldn’t keep the accusation out of her tone. Even if it was for the best and what she wanted… the only reason she felt a little bit of resentment towards Winter for not returning to check on her and sending Weiss in her stead came from a misbegotten idea that the Alpha should’ve seen the thing through. A ridiculous notion, really, but having to hunt her down after the turmoil passed… it hurt knowing that she wasn’t worth dealing with that fallout, even if all it would likely amount to would likely be summed up entirely by the words 'bad idea’. It just came back around to the fact that they weren’t mates, weren’t anything, and it would’ve been easier on both of them if Yang had just suffered in solitude. Then there wouldn’t be this awkward barrier between them caused by the events of those few days.

“Yang.” Blue eyes searched hers for a moment and she caved almost immediately, preempting the apology she could sense coming.

“I shouldn’t have said it like that. I’m sorry.” The Omega waved a hand before running it through her hair. “It’s like you said- it’s in the past. We both…  _I_  made a mistake and you were doing your best. No going back to change it.” A shrug. “The best we can do now is move forward. Right?”

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Blake chided her, saying that this didn’t constitute 'talking it out’ but she ignored it.

Winter watched her, something flashing across her expression- some sort of regret, that much she could tell- before she nodded. “You’re right. Mistakes happen; it’s best to forget.” Her posture straitened, her voice taking on a crisp edge once more. “But if you happen to be holding onto any anger, I’d suggest keeping it a little longer. It’ll help you infiltrate the base.” The Alpha hesitated, apparently debating something before she spoke. “It will behoove you to practice in full uniform a bit. That includes your hair.” She cleared her throat, coughing into one hand. “May I?”

She hesitated. No one had touched her hair aside from her in years. Not even Ruby- her sister understood that she didn’t like it, so she never asked. The only exception happened to be their father, and only because Yang didn’t have her other arm. However, the stakes were a bit too high to balk over being a little uncomfortable. “Yeah. Alright.”

“Excellent. Go ahead and sit down.”

Considering the lack of chairs in the simulator, Yang had no choice but to lower herself to the floor, crossing her legs as best she could in the tight uniform pants. “How do you stand wearing these?”

“It comes with practice,” the woman replied, coming up behind her and kneeling down. “I’ll do my best to be gentle. Feel free to correct me if I’m not.”

The Omega offered a grunt in response, trying to hide how she’d resorted to breathing through her mouth. Honestly, she couldn’t tell whether it was a better or worse alternative, reminded for a moment how the woman tasted when she’d marked her. An itch to bite down tickled at the back of her mind, but she’d just be gnashing her teeth, so instead she focused on the long, lithe fingers carefully combing their way through her locks.

She realized her mistake too late, her eyes almost falling closed. True to her word, Winter carefully tamed the blonde’s wild mane with nothing but her fingers, muttering something about using a comb to make it more presentable next time. Every time she winced at the tiniest tug, the woman had already stopped and smoothed the affected area out, offering a quiet apology. Yang didn’t really get the whole 'mutual grooming’ thing, allowing her mate or even a close friend to mess with her hair just seemed like a recipe for disaster. 

But this was… nice.

“Your hair is beautiful. How long have you been growing it out?” Winter kept her voice soft, as if doing her absolute best to preserve the tentative peace between them. They hadn’t been this close since their spar and not since their coupling before that; perhaps the woman felt as if walking on eggshells around each other was the only option left to them.

Maybe, while en route to their next battlefield, they could work out something different. For now, it seemed like the best option, so she replied in kind. “Since I was a kid. I get it trimmed up every few months or so, usually, but it’s been a while, and Ruby’s not the best barber.”

“You’ve let her cut your hair before?”

“Once. When we were  _really_ young.” Her lips curled into a smile. “As a matter of fact, that was right around the time I realized I don’t like other people touching my hair.”

“Weiss mentioned you’re rather particular about it. I thought it odd but now… entirely understandable.” The snap of elastic procured from somewhere preceded tension at the back of her head, and she winced at the reminder of those few months when she couldn’t put her own hair into a ponytail and had to ask her dad for help. He never complained and said it was 'good father, daughter bonding’ but all she could focus on was the sense of helplessness. By the time the strands were being wound up into a bun, the melancholy had passed. “It doesn’t get in your way while fighting?”

“Sometimes, but once my semblance kicks in, it just… behaves, I guess.” She shifted slightly, contemplating if she should dare continuing the conversation before taking the plunge. They’d have to start acting like normal people around each other eventually; as long as she kept herself firmly reminded of the strictly platonic nature of their interactions, she should be fine. “What about you? Does it… feel weird having your hair down now?”

“Weird is a good word for it. I’ve worn my hair up for so long, having it any other way felt very strange at first,” the Alpha replied, a slight wistfulness in her tone. “But I suppose a prisoner might feel the same with their shackles removed. Having it down… I feel freer, less restricted.”

“Well, I think your hair is beautiful, too, up or down,” she said, and immediately wanted to slap a hand to her face.

_Good job. Exactly the sort of flirting you should be doing around the Alpha who rejected you. Way to not come across as pathetic._

Predictably, the woman took her compliment in stride. “Thank you.”

Yang felt a slight tug, wincing and using it as a cover to let out a sigh as relief suffused her being. Somehow, that had slid past without further comment and she felt grateful, because trying to explain herself would’ve been a nightmare and a half.

The snap of more elastic followed by a small hum brought her out of her head. “I think that’s the best I can do without a brush. Tomorrow, I will ensure it’s perfect.” Winter stood up and walked around to in front of her, straightening out her jacket. “Now, stand up, and when you do, do it as a Specialist. I have absolute faith in you.”

_That makes one of us._

The blonde took a deep breath, trying to bring out her anger consciously. Pushing it down, that came easily, but turning it on… not so much. She usually reacted to something, but the times before when she’d gotten angry didn’t seem strong enough to last- the bar, the tournament, those were too brief, and the idea of Blake being in danger brought back memories of Adam, which sparked anger and fear in equal measure.

Instead, she thought back to a few weeks prior, the self loathing rolling through her in waves. She remembered the moment when she fully prepared to lash out at Winter- the woman who’d supported her as best she could in the circumstances and didn’t seem to hold her foolishness against her- and every damn mistake since. As she got to her feet, she remembered Stryker’s attitude the night before, her insults against the other Alpha, and how much it  _hurt_ that she felt compelled to defend someone she’d insulted herself, turning against her when she’d only offered to help.

When she opened her eyes, they were blazing red and fell on Winter with all the weight of a fully loaded airship. Her right arm snapped into a salute as she spoke. “Specialist Betrugs, delivering new recruits.” She paused, lowering her hand and furrowing her brows slightly, enough to convey annoyance. “How’s that? Do I look the part?”

The Alpha appeared entirely caught off guard, posture straightening the moment Yang’s eyes were on her and chin tilting up a fraction. Something flashed in her eyes, darkening them for a brief moment, before it seemed to be chased away. Finally, she seemed to register the questions directed at her.

“Perfect.” Winter blinked, shaking her head slightly and clearing her throat. “You- yes, you look the part. Do that tomorrow and no one will think twice about your story. That was an excellent example.”

Releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, the Omega rolled her neck and allowed her anger to dissipate. “I’m not sure if I can keep that up for hours on end.”

“You really only need to bring it out in full force when others are around,” she said, coughing into her hand and smoothing out her jacket once more. “I’m confident you’ll be able to manage. Once you’re within the perimeter, most will steer clear of you anyway.”

“You have a lot of faith in me,” she said, rubbing along the back of her neck. Having nothing but the cool air hitting it felt so strange and it would likely get worse once she was out in the elements tomorrow.

“I do,” Winter replied, a small smile on her lips when the Omega looked up. “ _Xiao_ could I not?”

Yang blinked. “Did you just make a pun?”

“Well, turnabout  _is_ fair play, is it not?” The Alpha’s smile widened as the blonde shook her head.

“For the record, you Schnees are  _really_ bad at them.” She couldn’t help the little chuckle that accompanied the words. “So, what’s next?”

As the impromptu lesson on Specialist etiquette continued, Winter’s smile didn’t fade, and she found herself wondering if perhaps getting back to normal between them wasn’t as out of reach as she’d previously thought. Besides, if she couldn’t have the woman as a mate, she at least had her confidence as a comrade-in-arms and that could be just as good. Not what she wanted, but something all the same.

When the lesson ended and they exited the training room, Yang tried to walk away without saying anything more, but her gut betrayed her, twisting into knots until she spoke. “Hey, Winter?”

“Yes?”

She turned to look at the woman, glad that the tightness at the back of her head had disappeared the moment she’d taken the bun down. Even though she could feel nothing but relief on a physical level, it still made her a little sad to have already lost any sign of the woman’s work wrangling her unruly hair into something neat and orderly. “Thanks.” The Alpha raised a brow. “All that talk about loyalty… abandoning your post to join us must’ve been a harder decision for you than we initially thought. I’m just…” She offered a small shrug. “Glad you came with us.”

Winter paused for a moment before smiling, her shoulders dropping slightly from their severe line. She’d fallen back into a few old habits during their little session but they seemed to slide away as that twinkle in her eyes from before came back. “Surprisingly, it was the easiest decision I’ve ever made. As much as I’d come to believe in the Atlesian military, I believe in other people more.” She turned, heading towards the cockpit. “No matter what, it’s a decision I won’t regret.”

Yang watched her go with a pang in her heart. One day, the woman would make the ideal mate.

Just… not hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone about to tell me that having everyone pose as soldiers is foolish/unrealistic... let me tell you, I have pulled some SHIT in my military career, including making a senior NCO think I was an officer WHILE my actual rank was in plain view. Militaries are a lot like video games; if you know the right glitches and cheat codes, you can get away with some ridiculous shit.


	6. The Mole in Atlas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a little late; it's been a helluva week.

Yang strode towards the cargo bay, trying her best to shake off the lingering softness in her heart. The airship had landed sometime during the night, the snow falling outside covering most of the windows on the windward side, and she’d awoken to find everyone in marginally good spirits during their early breakfast. They all seemed nervous regarding their plan to infiltrate the Atlesian base but Winter remained confident, enough that it seemed to calm her sister’s nerves about allowing her mate to go on the mission without her. It probably drove Weiss a touch insane, being forced to stay behind, but Ruby assured they would be back before the following morning at the latest, hopefully using the early night as cover for making their escape. While the others changed into their borrowed uniforms, the Omega had put on hers and waited for Winter to come and provide her assistance, brush in hand.

This time, she felt no surprise at how carefully the woman’s fingers moved, carding through golden strands as she fixed Yang’s hair into a tight, proper bun. It irritated her, having it pulled back like that, but that probably worked out for the best; easier to keep her frustration simmering if she had multiple things annoying her, she figured. Plus, focusing on the annoyance helped push aside the care with which the deed was done, transforming it into bitter resentment at the idea that, were it not for this mission, she’d never know how it felt at all.

By the time she made it to the cargo bay, her brows had furrowed and a tight frown pulled at her lips, hands clenched into fists at her side.

“Where’s Yang? She’s the only one we’re waiting on, right?” Stryker sounded impatient, standing beside the open door that lead to a bright, white expanse stretching as far as the eye could see, the cold wind slipping into the bay and stealing away all warmth.

Blake sighed, hands resting on the slim arms around her waist as Weiss kept her forehead pressed against the Faunus’ shoulder blade. “She’ll be along soon. We have time.”

“We don’t know how long the weather will be this nice,” the Alpha replied, taking a few steps down the drop door and peering up at the sky.

“ _This_  is nice?” Jaune whined, already looking like he might start shivering despite the heavy jacket. Beneath the cold weather gear, they wore their assigned uniforms, with patches marking rank and position. It made them all look a little puffier but kept the worst of the chill out.

Nigel laughed. “Oh, yeah, this is a beautiful, mild day here in northern Atlas. Perfect for a nice stroll through the wilderness.”

As she approached the door, Yang closed her eyes and gathered her anger up, allowing the heat to flow through her veins. Winter had warned her that she needed to surprise the others, put them in the proper mentality, and the rest would come naturally. Even if she remained a touch skeptical, she trusted the woman’s judgment.

“We won’t be strolling.” Her eyes snapped open, turned crimson as her anger lent a keen edge to her tone. The shift was immediate. Subconsciously trained to respond to commands, Team SNOW all immediately snapped to attention while her friends and teammates jolted to standing straighter. As they caught sight of Yang striding purposefully towards the door, she could see the impulse to cower flashing in their expressions, postures rigid in an effort to not draw her attention. “We move with a purpose; we need to be there within three hours. Sergeant Keel, take point. Team SNOW, maintain the perimeter. Sergeant Tollkirschen, bring up the rear. Let’s go.”

She never stopped walking and, by the time she reached the others, they’d arranged themselves around her as she’d commanded, almost jumping into position. Ruby and Blake recovered quickest, though her sister still seemed a bit nervous as she walked beside her, silver eyes flashing her way.

“I, uh, really didn’t think we’d be able to pull this off until right now,” she said, softly so the others wouldn’t hear as boots started to crunch into the snow underfoot.

Yang felt a smile tugging at her lips. “Winter’s a good teacher.” She glanced back, ensuring that Blake had pried herself away from her mate and pulled up the rear, which she had. Weiss watched them go from the door’s edge, worry pinching her expression. The professors plus Qrow had left half an hour earlier, wanting to be in good vantage points before the group arrived. Before she turned back towards the path ahead, she caught sight of Winter walking down the drop door to stand beside her sister, clearly just as ill at ease watching the others go as Weiss. Unbidden, the words came to her lips in hopes she could smooth away the concern shining bright in the older Alpha’s blue eyes. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Huh? Were you talking to me?” Her gaze snapped back to Ruby, who had a brow raised.

She blinked and cleared her throat. “Yeah. We’ll be back soon, but we have to pick up the pace.” Yang lengthened her stride, forcing everyone else to do the same. It only existed in her head but she could  _swear_ she felt the Alpha’s eyes on her back, watching her go with the same worry her sister paid Blake. “Keep it together, everyone. We’ve got twelve miles to cover and not a lot of time to do it.”

“Well, seems like-” Stryker started but shut up the moment crimson eyes shot her way, refocusing on the path ahead and pushing closer to Ren at the head of the formation.

Okay, maybe she should wear her hair up more often.

* * *

Two and a half hours later, Yang could feel the sweat rolling down her back and the chill biting at the nape of her neck. The storm had gotten worse, limiting their visibility, but hopefully that meant their story would be easier to buy. All around her, she could hear the crunching of snow and labored breathing, but no one dared utter a word of complaint, even though she’d allowed her eyes to revert to lilac about ten minutes after setting out. She’d give herself a headache holding it much longer than that and they still had who knew how many Atlesian soldiers to fool once they reached the base.

“Specialist Betrugs!” Ren called back over his shoulder from ahead of her, the wind nearly snatching the words away. “Visual on the base!”

“Good!” The Omega rolled her neck, preparing to slip fully back into her role. “Run ahead and warn them!” With a nod, the Beta started running, and for a moment it looked like Nora might follow. “Steady. We’ll give him a head start, then come up behind him.”

“Let’s hope this works.” Stryker muttered, moving up to take Ren’s spot.

_Winter said it would, so it will._

In the blink of an eye, her anger had surged forward and her voice took on the dangerous edge from before. “Double time! Now!”

The whole lot of them broke into a run, and it took conscious effort on Ruby’s part to not use her semblance. They managed to keep to their loose formation, arriving at the base’s main gate in time to see some Atlesian soldier getting in Ren’s face, likely trying to get more information out of the Beta than he could give.

Which meant, it was officially time to play her part.

“SERGEANT!” Her voice boomed, jolting the Atlesian soldiers away from Ren as everyone else hunched their shoulders slightly. It seemed her voice only held no sway on the storm and the Knights standing just off to the side, which was encouraging. “WHAT’S THE HOLD UP?”

“They’re denying us entry pending orders!” He shouted back, stepping away as the group arrived.

That allowed Yang to turn her furious gaze upon the man- Alpha, by what little she could catch on the icy wind- who almost immediately tilted his chin up while mustering his courage. “W-we have our orders, Specialist.”

“And I have mine.” She waved a hand at the group, all of whom were panting heavily from the sprint to the gate. “My secondary mission is delivering this lot here.” She narrowed her eyes, hoping she read the rank on his jacket correctly. “Are you standing in my way, Sergeant?”

“N-negative, Specialist.” His eyes darted down to the name on her jacket as he retreated a step, seeming to recover a bit of his decorum along the way. “We’re merely confirming your credentials-”

“Sergeant, you’ll have an easier time putting a call in to General Ironwood himself on that front. This was  _not_ my primary destination,” she said, turning her head sharply and barking out her next command. “RTO!” Nora quickly bounded up, stopping beside her and snapping off an energetic salute that seemed to confuse the Sergeant for a moment. “Since he wants a full debrief, provide him with the details he requires and rendezvous in the mess hall.”

“But, Specialist-”

She talked over him effortlessly. “Anything she can’t tell you,  _you_ don’t have the clearance to know.” She drew herself up to her full height, crossing her arms over her chest and baring her teeth just a bit. “Any other dumb objections, Sergeant?”

He exchanged a quick look with the other soldier on guard before shaking his head. “Negative, Specialist.”

“Excellent.” Her eyes flicked over to the other man, who straightened under the weight of her gaze. “You. Put in a call to your medics. Have them en route to the mess hall immediately.” Yang turned, stalking through the gate without waiting for a response. “I’ll speak to your Commander myself.”

As everyone else fell in behind her, they made their way past the barricades and barriers constituting the perimeter of the base as Nora launched into her semi-practiced speech regarding their supposed trip, her voice becoming more distant  and muffled by the wind as they walked. Once they were out of ear shot but able to see the light coming from a building up ahead, Blake let out a chuckle.

“So… how’s the ego doing there,  _Specialist_.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” She blinked, shoulders sagging as she let go of her anger for a moment. Throughout the conversation, she’d been able to ignore the biting cold, but now it came back tenfold and the Omega had to fight to keep her teeth from chattering. “First time I’ve ever had an Alpha bare their throat to me, though.”

“I’ll admit, that was amusing to watch.” Stryker smiled, nodding towards the building. “That’s the muster hall there. If it’s set up like most other bases, the mess will be off to the right.”

Ruby looked around, squinting against the snow and wind. “Yeah, I can see the hangar off to the left, and they’re usually a ways from each other from what you said. Jaune and I can-”

“Hey, you!” Yang bit the inside of her cheek, drawing her anger forth again as she turned her head towards the person storming towards them. “Stop right there!”

“Keep moving; I’ll find you guys later,” she said, giving her sister a nod before heading towards the interloper. If she couldn’t outright dissuade the woman, then at least she could buy the others time to scatter and begin their search. Her gaze fell heavily on the Atlesian striding towards her but she didn’t seem fazed in the slightest, gesturing towards the others.

“What part of ‘stop’ did you miss?” A few inches taller than Yang and slender despite the padding of the jacket, the stranger’s expression was pinched into one of annoyance, brown eyes flicking the Omega up and down. As the wind shifted directions, Yang caught the harsh bite of an agitated Alpha stinging her nose and while it helped boost her anger, it didn’t exactly bode well at present. The Soldier wore no distinctive markings- no rank insignia, no devices, all the usual places left bare so snow could stick to them- and didn’t seem concerned about getting in the blonde’s face. “Oh, lucky me. A fucking Specialist.”

“Good. I guess that means you’re finished wasting my time.” She turned, preparing to stalk off towards the mess, when a hand grabbed her jacket. The urge to throw a punch surged and she turned towards the woman with a snarl on her lips, right arm cocking back. With any luck, she could knock the soldier out and put her in a broom closet somewhere- it would at least give them a chance to escape.

“Whoa! Hey, hold on you two!” Someone darted between them, planting a firm hand on their shoulders and pushing the two away from each other. “Dal, we’ve talked about this. TC isn’t going to be happy if you start  _another_ fight on base!” The man- a Beta, had to be- glanced at Yang before his light blue eyes went wide. “Uh, Specialist! S-sorry about the inconvenience, uh, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding-”

“You’re always such a pushover, Aegean.” The Alpha groused, rolling her eyes. “Commander said  _no one_  in or out! How is that a hard concept to understand?”

“It’s different- she’s a  _Specialist_.” Yang’s gaze quickly darted to the tabs on his shoulders marking him as a Sergeant of some sort, a peculiar marking in the middle meaning  _something_ she couldn’t quite grasp. Winter mentioned it but only briefly, seeing as she ideally wouldn’t be around others long enough for distinguishing between the specifics ranks to be important.

The Alpha grit her teeth while glaring at the other soldier. “I don’t care; your stupid rank structure doesn’t mean a damn thing to me and you know it!”

“But it means a considerable amount to  _me_ , Semper, and I thought I made that clear last time.” A new voice cut in over the sound of the wind and Yang felt a tendril of concern worm its way beneath her skin. True, she’d faced much worse odds, but that was before and not while standing shin deep in snow. Regardless of her misgivings, the blonde turned to acknowledge the third party and began gearing herself up for a fight immediately. For a long moment, she couldn’t tell much about the soldier except the gleaming metal collar tabs- an officer, and a high ranking one. The rest of the uniform didn’t match the standard Atlesian fare- brown splotched with dark orange, knee and elbow pads over some sort of jumpsuit and a helmet with a dark visor to obscure the eyes, as androgynous an appearance as one could have. It made her wonder which came first: the officer or the Knights. “Semper, Forecastle, you may both return to your quarters. Cirrus, escort them back. I will take matters from here.”

The Alpha- Semper, apparently- prepared to growl out something but a large hand clapped her on the shoulder, belonging to a mountain of a man who seemed to materialize out of the storm itself. He stood a full two heads taller with a thick, reddish brown beard down to the middle of his chest catching snow as grey eyes met the angry woman’s through the goggles he wore.

“Why do you always take  _their_  side?” She grumbled, shrugging off the hand but turning around all the same. “Whatever. Last time I try helping out with this military crap.”

The Beta released a sigh of relief that she mirrored, though Yang wasn’t quite as obvious with hers while the man gave a nod to the officer. “Thanks, TC.”

“Keep an eye on her; storms like these make her a little stir crazy.” TC nodded in the direction of the stalking Alpha. “Let her know I’m arranging for another Grimm mission as soon as the weather lets up. That ought to placate her for the time being.”

“Will do, Commander,” he replied with a genuine chuckle, patting a hand against the larger man’s arm. “C'mon, Rudy. Let’s go check on the drama queen.”

As the two walked off into the storm, the officer turned back towards Yang and offered a hand. “My apologies, Specialist… Betrugs, was it?”

“Yes,” she replied, giving the Commander’s hand a firm shake without squeezing too hard, mindful of the prosthetic’s occasionally poor sensors and the effects three hours in the icy cold had on them. “I’m sure General Ironwood sent word I would be stopping by briefly before continuing on my mission. Obviously, plans have changed, somewhat.”

“I’m afraid I haven’t received the full brief on your arrival. Neither, unfortunately, was I given any forewarning.” Their voice remained calm and smooth, betraying nothing. Neither did their scent, for that matter, making Yang uneasy. With the others she’d encountered, she had an idea of how to react, but this would be a much harder conversation to escape, and she ran the risk of revealing herself at every turn.

_Keep it together, Xiao Long. You’ve gotten people more intimidating than this to back down in the past._

Before she could start navigating the minefield, movement out of the corner of her eye drew the Omega’s attention to Nora, running up from the gate. The normally energetic woman called out, realizing Yang wasn’t alone halfway through the word and covering as best she could. “Hey, Ya-your orders have been fulfilled, Specialist!” She came to a quick stop and snapped off a salute, her lips pulling into a wide smile. “I fully briefed the Sergeant regarding the crash!”

“Crash?” The Commander made a noise. “Explains why you lot showed up here on foot.” They nodded at Nora. “You should join your unit in the mess hall. We already have medics standing by. Be sure to advise them of any allergies; we don’t have access to the CCT at present due to the storm.”

“Aye aye!” As the Beta started to trot off, she threw a worried look over her shoulder at Yang but the blonde didn’t falter.

“Follow me, Specialist.” They waved a hand towards the muster hall. “We’d best continue this conversation somewhere warm.”

Yang followed the Commander while biting her lip. Although a reprieve from the cold would be a good thing, her tenuous grip on her anger waned. Being this angry without actually  _doing_ anything about it would give her a headache in time but she had to keep the ruse up while the others did what they could to search the base. 

Finding Salem’s agent would be nigh impossible with everything in their favor but maybe they could get lucky. She really hoped they would be, anyway. 

In the meantime, she thought back to her heat and every self loathing thought, every small stick of inadequacy that piled high to rest heavily on her heart. She just had to focus on the anger and not let the sadness overcome it.

“Again, my apologies for Semper’s attitude. She’s not yet adjusted to cooperating with military discipline.” The Commander pulled the heavy door to the muster hall open, both of them quickly entering before it was shoved shut to keep the cold out. They brushed the snow from their shoulders and pants as the Omega immediately capitalized on the opportunity presented.

“I didn’t see any rank. Is she a civilian?”

“Not quite.” They reached up, pulling off their helmet to reveal short, dusty brown hair shaved on the sides but left long enough on top for bangs to shade grey eyes. “She washed out of the Specialist program the year after graduating but retained her Huntress license. It took a considerable amount of persuasion to get General Ironwood to concede but she’s been a useful addition to the team. More focused on killing Grimm than staying in line, though.”

“I didn’t think the Grimm problem up here warranted such extreme measures.” Yang followed the officer as they lead the way through the building. The two passed several other Atlesian soldiers in the process, most of whom ducked out of the way as soon as they realized they weren’t alone in the hallway, snapping to attention until they’d both passed. “Do you need any help?”

“An interesting offer, Specialist Betrugs, but we’re not up here hunting Grimm.” The Commander chuckled. “I should probably clarify- I’m Commander Cotta, head of the Atlas Rapid Response Team. I’m only temporarily commanding this base until Commander Jergen returns from his assignment. My missions tend more towards the… necessarily quiet sort.”

“Wetwork, you mean.” Winter had warned her she might run up against another Specialist or one of the very few less celebrated portions of the Atlesian military and had given her a fair amount of tricks to exploit. Not by name, though, but at least she had an idea of what that extra mark in the rank signified. “I guess we both need to exercise a certain amount of… discretion, then.”

“I would say so.” They stopped in front of an unassuming door which revealed a small office- somewhat cramped, but no more so than the majority of the military lodgings she’d come across thus far- and stepped inside, the door closing behind them. “However, as a matter of course, I will need to know your mission location. We’ll be the ones providing you with a new airship, after all, and I’ll need at least a mission order number to write off the loss.”

“We’re heading one hundred clicks southwest of the base, to a remote region where we believe Mantle purists are trying to hole up in preparation for a strike,” she said, having rehearsed this particular answer for nearly half an hour the day prior. “I’m being sent to investigate- no contact unless necessary- under orders six-six-zulu-foxtrot-three-two-three.” She thought about adopting a military stance but Winter’s words echoed in her mind and she instead moved into a more comfortable position, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting her weight to her back foot. “A rather boring mission, compared to the excitement of getting downed, but I have reason to believe the crash is connected. I’d like to request a team to go investigate the crash site for signs of sabotage when possible.”

For a moment, the Commander paused before a small grin curled their lips. “Winter trained you  _very_  well. Color me impressed.”

A shock went through her system but the Omega did her best to retain her composure, calling their bluff. “You mean Schnee? We ran a joint mission a few years ago, but I’d hardly say she trained me. A good mentor, though.”

“Not buckling under pressure- admirable, but unnecessary.” Cotta waved a hand, leaning back against their temporary desk. Their eyes narrowed slightly as they tilted her head, their voice pitching slightly higher than before. “No offense to your acting skills, of course, but Winter is literally the only woman I’ve ever met who wears her hair in that severe a bun. It’s such an old style, a hold over from her mother- they still have Willow’s picture hanging in the drill hall at the Specialist Training Camp, you know. I’d say a fair amount of Specialists try to replicate it but Winter’s the only one who can do it  _right_. She tried teaching me once; said it would help me focus in battle.” They ran a hand through their hair pointedly. “I went and got my hair cut the next day. She didn’t find her reaction nearly as amusing as I did.”

She blinked. The close relationship implied by the words struck a nerve in Yang, shock and bitter resentment for the Commander overpowering her anger long enough for her eyes to revert to their normal lilac.

Apparently, that’s all it took. “Ah, Yang Xiao Long. I should’ve guessed; no reason to alter the appearance of one who wouldn’t be otherwise recognized.”

“You seemed to hit on it pretty quick.” Her brows furrowed as she tried to stave off the headache now teasing just behind her eyes.

“I never forget a face, but the past year must’ve been quite hard on you. You look a bit more… jaded than before. Older, not nearly as brash and cocky as you were during the Vytal Festival. That and the eye color change- truly, I think you might’ve pulled this off had it been anyone but me to greet you.” They pushed off the desk and picked up a picture frame sitting atop it, turning it so the blonde could see. In the photo, she could see a version of the Alpha younger than herself; it had to be taken during their first year attending Atlas Academy. “Winter and I were partners during our Academy days, prior to her enrollment in the Specialist program. Tell me, did she ever learn how to smile?”

Yang felt her lips twitch, trying to clamp down on the urge to smile herself. She looked so much like Weiss in the picture- all well bred cockiness and unabashed pride, a little bit of distaste curling her mouth into a small frown as some young man leaned an elbow on her shoulder. “Yeah. She did.”

“Good. One of the things I’ve worried about the past two years. I suppose I can sleep easy now.” Cotta turned and put the picture frame back. “So, it must be rather important for Winter to set you up for such a dire mission. I feel like she would’ve simply snuck her way onto the base herself if it was just a matter of supplies.”

She opened her mouth to answer truthfully but then the thought occurred to her. If General Ironwood knew who was taking Commander Jergen’s place- that the person happened to share a personal connection to Winter- he would’ve mentioned it, would’ve made a point to arrange for Winter to be the one making contact with the Commander. They would’ve had an easy, free and clear pass to search the training grounds beyond the base without worrying about being found out. Even with a traitor on the base, Winter would be able to come up with something that would keep them off the radar and Cotta would be able to give them cover, and Cotta would be well within their rights to investigate anyone on the base.

Something didn’t add up.

“It’s just supplies,” she said instead, uncrossing her arms and spreading her hands. If things went south, she wanted to be able to start swinging immediately. “Winter had to take care of some other stuff.”

“Really? So, you’re not here to ferret out some traitor among our ranks?” The officer tilted their head slightly and… maybe it was just in the Omega’s head, but it seemed like their eyes were glowing slightly, pulsing with light. “Perhaps, looking for someone who might pose a danger to your friends?” Their voice pitched lower, a soothing baritone almost. “I suspect there must be a heavy reason behind Winter’s sudden departure from the service. Are you sure you’re not here regarding that?”

At the mention of the Alpha, Yang’s posture straightened; she hadn’t even noticed she’d been slouching. Without being able to talk to Winter, she wouldn’t compromise the secrecy of their mission. The woman had warned that some might bring up other Specialists, ask for how they’re doing or what information she might have, and she had only recourse: deny any knowledge and exit the conversation as quickly as possible. People asked questions all the time but it was a Specialist’s prerogative to answer only to General Ironwood himself.

“Nope. Just a supply run,” she replied, offering a smile. “If you’re willing to part with a few extra crates, I’d appreciate it. Would make this whole thing a  _lot_  easier.”

Cotta blinked, that strange shine to their eyes disappearing entirely, and then sighed, looking down towards their boots before nodding. “I’ll hand it to Winter; even if she didn’t expect me to be here, she certainly sent the right person. I’m tempted to believe you.” The Commander walked toward the wall bearing a map of the base and surrounding area, markings and pins beyond Yang’s capacity to decipher highlighting certain areas. “I’ll give you the supplies you need, Miss Xiao Long, and a ship to transport them. I’ll even be kind enough to give you a little something extra.” They raised a hand, tapping two fingers against the training grounds for Atlas Academy. About thirteen clicks northwest of the base, among the broken mountains, wild Grimm, and fierce snow lay a ruined, abandoned city from centuries ago where Atlesian students went for their initiation. “This is where you really want to go- to retrieve one of the four relics you need to defeat Salem, yes?”

The Omega’s brow furrowed, mouth drawing into a frown- had she forced the Commander to reveal everything they knew to gain her trust or had she stumbled straight into a trap? “I’m-”

“Please, there’s no need to waste more time trying to cover your tracks. You’ll need every minute available to you at this point.” The Commander turned, offering her a small smile. “The relic you’re seeking is on its way to Vacuo as we speak.  _If_  you’re able to catch up to the transport, you might stand a chance at stopping her, but I sincerely doubt that. Still, at least you know where to go now.” With that, they turned, heading back towards their desk. “You’re free to take whatever you need. I suspect I’ll be called back to Salem’s side soon enough; I think she wants all of her little pieces present when she finally succeeds.”

She thought it might be a fluke but, no, she’d found the traitor in the Atlesian military, the little bird manipulating things at Salem’s behest. For a moment, Yang stood there, stunned, before realizing that the Commander had sat down and proceeded to entirely ignore her presence. “And what’s stopping me from killing you now?”

“Nothing, except the knowledge that, if you blow your cover in the middle of the base while separated from your friends, none of you will make it out alive.” The officer smirked. “And I’m just a knight on the chess board. A nice victory but, in the long game, nonessential. Besides, I wouldn’t have led you in here if I thought you were that stupid.”

“So why tell me all this?” Yang made a motion to the map, though it seemed to be for her benefit alone.

Cotta looked up and appeared thoughtful for a moment before speaking. “Well, if we have to put a name to it, let’s say that, in light of our mutual acquaintance, I can at least show you a little sportsmanship. I owed Winter a considerable debt once. This will make us even; I’d hate for her to think I’ll consider holding back, if we meet on the battlefield in the near future.” They put up a finger. “Now that I think on it, though, do me a favor and pass on a message to my dear friend.” The Commander leaned forward. “I’d offer for us to catch up sometime but, well, you’re all probably going to be dead soon. Let her know that I’m glad she learned to smile before she died and that I’m doing just peachy. I’d hate for anything to be left unsaid.” They made a dismissive motion with their hand. “Now, off you go. You’ve got a heroic sacrifice to make and I’d rather set up this base to at least be functional when I get called away than argue.” Papers shuffled as their gaze dropped back down to their desk, a frown coming to their lips. “After all, unleashing a new world order is no fun unless there’s people there to subjugate, right? And I’m honestly surprised this lot hasn’t frozen themselves to death by this point.”

The Omega waited for a moment, trying to fit the pieces together, before deciding she simply couldn’t. Something about Cotta’s words seemed… off. Aside from the whole show of leniency- which really didn’t fit the style of Salem or any of her little minions at all- there also existed some… feeling. She couldn’t put it into words and the lack of any discernible scent- Alpha, Beta, Omega… perhaps the Commander was an android like Penny, a being with an aura but little else in the way of traditional anatomy for a sentient human being. Except, that didn’t make sense, either…

“You’re still here?” The Commander looked up, making a vague motion with their hand. “Look, if you’re going to take the stupid route and attack me, please just get it over with. I’ve too much to do and I can’t have you just standing there all day.”

“I’ll remember how much of a hurry you’re in when I shove my fist through your skull.” Yang snapped, turning towards the door, bringing her anger back to the fore so she could make it outside the building. “Next time we see each other, it’s not going to be pretty.”

“I’m counting on it.”

The words rang in her skull as she stalked down the halls, soldiers jumping out of her way the same as before. She could hear them whispering as she passed but paid it no mind, retracing her steps until she stood in the bitter cold once more. The storm had gotten a little worse but it wouldn’t be anything that could keep a suitable Atlesian airship from taking off, so they still had their easy out if all else failed. Rather than abandon the ruse now that she’d been found out, the blonde turned and went to the mess hall, hoping to find a few of the group waiting for her. Oscar, Ruby, and Nora were supposed to break off and do their own thing while the others found their way to the hangar and began loading an airship with whatever supplies they could find. If all went according to plan, she could get the others to the airship and off this base before night fell and the minimal visibility deteriorated even more.

Making it to the other building, Yang shouldered her way through the doors, a little on edge when crimson eyes swept the room and found only unfamiliar faces.

“Uh, Specialist Betrugs?” Her attention snapped to a sheepish young woman wearing a red cross on an armband. “W-we saw to the soldiers you brought. Team SNOW is being escorted to in-processing and the rest of the crew is prepping an airship for you, Ma'am.”

“Any lasting injuries?” She growled out, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Negative, Ma'am. They’ll all be fit for duty by tomorrow.” She seemed hesitant to continue but did anyway. “You… kept them rather well protected from the elements, especially given the weather.”

_You will receive accolades. Specialists are held in high regard among the rank and file. But what is most important is this: we can always see our flaws and strive to improve. It helps separate us from them._

Yang inhaled deeply, some part of her wishing she could simply accept the compliment. Being rude without reason didn’t sit well with her but she had an image to maintain a while longer. “Next time, I’ll save the ship.” She turned on her heel, ready to head towards the hangar. “Thank you for your efforts. Your crew should be proud.”

The blonde left quickly, not wanting to stick around long enough for her disguise to slip again. She had to get everyone together and get off the base before the Commander changed their mind- or worse. However, the moment she stepped out into the wind and snow, she found her path blocked by the huge man from before- Cirrus, he must’ve been called, and she read as much off the jacket he wore. He stood damn near two heads taller than her and twice as wide, dwarfing even Yatsuhashi, and it remained impossible to see anything beyond the bushy beard and goggles over his eyes.

“Something I can help you with?” She growled out, catching the faintest hint of his scent on the wind- an Omega, which didn’t exactly bode well for her. Alphas didn’t always pick up on every cue but Omegas could read into each other’s body language much easier, often deciding to either band together or avoid the other. It was how Yang knew, the moment she locked eyes with Blake, that they would be good as partners, the most harmonious matchup aside from Ren and Nora, as far as their initiation went. And in the man before her, she could read a hint of regret and sadness, as if he, too, knew that they would likely find the other on the battlefield in the near future.

Wordlessly, he reached inside his jacket and pulled out two pills bottles, offering them to her. One looked like the standard suppressants for Omegas, if double the usual dosage, while the other seemed unfamiliar. The blonde scanned his burly frame, finding no hint of deception, and reached out to accept them.

Yang furrowed her brows, trying hard to hold onto her anger to keep her eyes red. She tried directing her gaze to the bottles, noting the label on the unfamiliar one- a supplement, for treating the irritability that came with prolonged suppressant use. “Why?” Her mind raced, trying to think how a real Omega Specialist would respond to the gesture. “I can get my own.”

One large hand landed on her shoulder, somehow managing to not alarm her despite its weight. “Friend or foe change; Omega don’t.” He gave her a squeeze before turning around, walking back into the storm. “Bye, Yang.”

“Hey, wait.” Her eyes reverted to lilac, unable to maintain her anger in the face of a second failure to conceal her identity. “What’s your name?”

“Rudy,” the man replied, stopping for a moment.

“Goodbye, Rudy,” she said, shoving the bottles into her own jacket and turning towards the hangar. Somehow, his outline disappeared before she’d even started trudging through the snow again, but that didn’t matter.

The pounding in her head, building from forcing herself to be angry, had started making it difficult to think. As the cold began to seep through her coat, Yang started reciting the important bits so she wouldn’t forget them. Commander Cotta, leader of the Atlas Rapid Response Team, had their number and seemed intent on punching their time cards when they felt good and ready, the entire base was on lock down for some reason, and they supposedly had already found Atlas’ relic in the training grounds just beyond the base.

This was  _not_ how she’d hoped things would go.

Almost without her notice, someone fell into step beside her, and she almost swung save for the comforting, familiar scent of a good friend. “Find anything good?”

“Not much, but I was able to eavesdrop on a few grumbling soldiers. Apparently, the general consensus is that the temporary Commander is a stickler for details. If we don’t get off this base soon, we’ll probably be found out.”

“Well, partner, I’ve got some bad news for you- we already have,” she said, turning to catch wide amber eyes. “The Commander is the mole and they’ve already figured us out. They’re  _letting us_  grab some stuff and ghost.”

The Faunus’ expression pinched together. “I don’t-  _what_? Why?”

A few words came to mind but she dashed them all. Everything would come out later, when they could handle it as a group; rushing to a conclusion now would be the last thing they’d want to do. “Let’s just say, it’s a lucky break we shouldn’t have, so let’s get out of here before they change their mind.”

“That sounds like a good plan.” Blake hurried her steps and Yang matched it, the two of them heading to the hangar.

* * *

Yang tapped her fingers nervously against her thigh, scanning over the crates they’d pushed onto one of the ships. Much like Winter had predicted, Ruby and Jaune were able to duck out of sight before any of the Engineers came around, and nearly everyone else got out of the duo’s way when they appeared to be working. Between them, they had rations, medical supplies, cold weather clothes, and more than a few survival packs in the event they couldn’t reach the training ground by airship and had to rely on a hike out there. Ren had silently slipped around the various barracks and work spaces, collecting intel on troop movements in the area and some more specific information on the circumstances leading to Commander Cotta’s command at the base. Blake and Yang had concerned themselves with loading up what supplies Ruby and Jaune brought back and Nora spent the entire time darting in and out of the hangar, stuffing little pouches of…  _something_ into the nooks and crannies of the transport before disappearing again. None of them had seen Oscar since they’d left the mess hall, and the same could be said of Team SNOW, though the former probably had a better reason for it.

“Do we have anything else to throw on?” Looking at her partner, Yang touched the pill bottles Rudy had given her, ensuring they hadn’t fallen out. Despite the full boxes of supplements sitting just a few feet further away, she felt more at ease with the ones in her pocket, a tangible promise that some of her suffering would abate soon.

“That’s really the last of it.” Blake growled, tugging harshly on something deep in the belly of the airship, the creeper’s wheels squeaking as it moved thanks to the motions. “I can’t get this stupid tracker out.”

“Wait for Ruby to get back; she can always get things that are finicky like that,” she said, glancing around the hangar. “Maybe we should grab an extra tool set?”

“We’re almost at capacity.” The Faunus wheeled herself out from under the airship’s belly, dusting her hands off with a frustrated sigh. “Three teams can hardly fit in this little thing, not to mention with all this cargo.”

They’d opted to take one of the smaller, striker designed airships, the sort primarily used to drop Atlesian Knights into an area rather than people. Aside from being easily to pilot for Ruby, everyone agreed that depriving the base of a larger transport when they knew it wouldn’t be returned pushed into dangerously immoral territory. From what Ren and Blake had gathered, very few soldiers in the outpost knew of the trials being faced by Remnant at large; too little information had made it through and their commanding officer likely had a direct hand in that.

The shuffling of several people prompted both of them to lightly run up the lowered drop door, crouching low as if it would help them remain undetected. Even if almost everyone knew by this point that a Specialist had arrived on the outpost and would be departing relatively soon, they’d rather mitigate shortening their stay, especially with over half their group unaccounted for at present. It wasn’t until Stryker came into view- looking around in a rather obvious manner- that the partners released their collectively held breath.

“About time you four showed up,” Yang said, emerging from the airship and looking at the rest of Team SNOW. “Find anything good?”

“Nah, but we did leave some parting presents.” The Alpha jerked her head towards a rather proud looking Nigel and Wisteria. “We’ve damaged some of the non critical systems and rigged a few more to go down sporadically over the next twenty four hours. Easy fixes but it  _should_ make tracking us a bit more difficult thanks to all the interference.”

“At least they’ll be busy.” Blake puffed out a breath, ears flicking beneath her bow. “I don’t like this. It’s too easy.”

“We  _know_ why it’s easy.” The Omega couldn’t help but scratch at her chin and shake her head. “But you’re right- even with them knowing, something’s off.” In her head, she went over the Commander’s words again. Something… didn’t fit. “What all did they have you do for in processing, anyway? Won’t you be missed?”

“Funny thing about that, actually.” Nigel piped up, offering a strange half smile. “Some bloke came in before we could finish filling out the paperwork; apparently, our packets were already in the system and would be processed tomorrow morning. He apologized and told us to go grab bunks in one of the barracks, unwind after all the trouble.”

“Which is odd, considering we shouldn’t exist in  _any_ system at all.” Oswald added, the corners of his mouth dipping into a frown. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

“Was he a little shorter than me, kinda excitable, blue eyes, had Sergeant tabs that were a little different than the usual ones?” Yang felt a ball of dismay drop into the pit of her stomach as he nodded. “Great. That explains it.”

“What, is he a friend of yours?” Stryker offered a smirk, the peculiar way she said the word 'friend’ rubbing the Omega the wrong way.

“He’s directly working under Salem’s agent on this base.” The shock that registered on Team SNOW’s face confirmed they understood the full brunt of the situation. “All of us are probably compromised- they know  _exactly_ who we are and why we’re here.”

“We need to leave,” Blake said, glancing at the airship.

“Where are the others?” The Alpha’s teasing took an immediate back seat, one hand lifting to grip the handle of her blade as grim seriousness flashed in her expression. “How long until we’re fighting our way out?”

“They’re letting us leave; I’ll explain more later.” Yang caught sight of Ren, Jaune, and Ruby hurrying towards them as quietly as possible, each with something bundled up in their arms. “Are you three almost done?”

“Yep!” Ruby beamed, motioning towards the bundle in her arms. “We just got enough dust to last us for a few months, plus a few  _new_ types.”

“You stole experimental military grade dust combinations?” Stryker’s eyes went wide, Oswald going so far as to cover his mouth with one hand while his teammates took a large step back from the three newcomers.

“I’d like to think of it as 'borrowing without permission’ considering the circumstances.” The Beta scurried up the ramp with her companions in tow, the three taking care to store the dust carefully while Yang took another look around. Now all they needed was Nora and Oscar, and then they could blow this place- figuratively speaking. “Okay, has anyone seen Nora?”

“She’s right there,” Ren replied without even looking up, drawing confusion from the rest of the assembled group until Yang felt a light bump on the bun at the back of her head. When she turned, a finger tapped the edge of her nose.

“Boop!”

“Nora, now is seriously not the time,” Jaune said, motioning for her to stop hanging from the top of the airship and join them. “Sloth impression later, getting out of here alive  _now_.”

“So, that just leaves Oscar.” Blake’s expression twitched, one ear swiveling around. “That should be him but… something’s wrong.”

Ruby bit her lip, then flicked her gaze over to the Alpha. “Stryker, take your team and go check it out, and Yang, keep an eye on them; you might be able to scare off anyone giving Oscar trouble. The rest of us should make sure this thing is ready to take off.”

With a nod, the Omega followed her sister’s orders, putting faith in the others to get the airship fit for flight shortly. She dredged up the anger from before, keeping it simmering low so it wouldn’t exacerbate the pounding in her head as she crouched down by some barrels, allowing Stryker and her team to head into the open part of the hangar and investigate. For a moment, all she heard was the muffled curse falling from Nigel’s lips and the scraping of boots on concrete as the team rushed forward, soft platitudes falling from Wisteria and Oswald accompanying Stryker’s grunts. Then, Nigel came rushing around the barrel, face plain with panic.

“Someone got to 'im.”

With a furrowed brow, Yang stood up, the bottom of her stomach dropping out as she caught sight of the Alpha marching towards her, Oscar’s somewhat limp body cradled in her arms. He was conscious, but only barely so, hands gripping the woman’s lapel for dear life, and though she couldn’t see any sign of combat or injury, somehow she  _knew_ he wasn’t okay.

“We gotta get out of here,” she said, voice barely above a whisper before her feet began taking her back towards the airship. “Rubes, we gotta go!”

Her sister wheeled herself out from under the ship, brows furrowed and a half formed question on her lips before silver eyes fell on the group hot on Yang’s heels. “Right. Everyone, load up!”

As everyone piled into the airship, Ruby and Ren slipped into the pilot and copilot seats while Yang stood at the end of the ramp, helping Stryker bring Oscar up and squeezing the last of them into the cramped cargo hold before hitting the switch to pull the ramp up. While Blake and Nora focused on helping Ruby and Ren get them out of the hangar and onto the airstrip, the Omega started checking the boy out, noting how his eyes, though wide open, appeared to be unseeing blankly ahead of him. He looked like he was in a state of shock so deep that not even being surrounding by allies snapped him out of it and even his scent, meager though it was for a kid his age, held almost no trace of any discernible emotion aside from a muted sort of terror. Whatever the kid had gotten into, it hadn’t been good.

As they bumped and rumbled out of the hangar and into the battering winds of the storm, Jaune came over, kneeling down with her as Stryker set the boy down in the only available seat in the cargo hold and Yang busied herself with buckling him into the seat.

“What happened to him?” The blond muttered, slapping lightly at Oscar’s face. “It’s like he’s seen a ghost.”

“Or a demon,” Yang said, looking into the boy’s eyes. “Ozpin, you there? I swear, I will find a way to pull you out of there with my bare hands if I have to, do you hear me? Uncle Qrow might buy into your body hopping bullshit but Oscar’s a  _child_  and you’d better  _hope_ he snaps out of this!”

Although she wasn’t sure if it was her words or just enough time had passed, the boy blinked rapidly a few times before he lurched forward, puking as he doubled over as much as the restraints allowed. Yang, thankfully, had the reflexes to get out of the way, but Jaune definitely didn’t see it coming and ended up covered in vomit.

As Oscar shuddered and moaned, a few lingering retches clearing out his throat, the two blondes exchanged a look.

“Well, looks like you’re back to being Vomit Boy.”

Jaune, amazingly, had the temerity to chuckle, throwing her a small smile and a pained look. “You know, I really wouldn’t mind going back to that.”

“Yeah… me too, buddy,” she replied, patting his shoulder and heading towards the cockpit, leaving the other Omega to check up on Oscar while Oswald produced a bottle of water from one of the supply bags. She couldn’t get very far- with Nora and Blake helping out and operating the smaller panels off to the side, it was a tight fit. “How’re we lookin’?”

“Looks like we’re in the clear,” Ren said, eyes roving over various gauges and his hands steady despite the uneasiness in his scent. “But lifting off in this weather isn’t going to be easy.”

“We can make it.” Ruby took hold of the yoke, small hands gripping it tightly as she manipulated the foot pedals to bring them in line with the airstrip. “We’ll have to push the engines to their limit, though.”

As the Betas began rattling off information too fast for Yang to catch, she turned to head back into the cargo hold when something caught her eye.

At the edge of the airstrip, weathering the chilling wind whipping around and snow pelting them, stood the familiar figures- Rudy, Dal, Aegean, and the Commander with their helmet back on and arms crossed.

“Are they going to try and stop us?” Blake narrowed her eyes, fingers brushing across buttons in preparation for activating one of the airship’s defense systems.

“No,” Yang replied, maintaining eye contact even through the flurries and the distance; without actually being able to see their face, she could  _feel_ their eyes on her, how the Commander seemed to track her specifically. “But don’t head straight back and keep an eye on the radar… as best as we can, anyway. The one with the helmet is Salem’s mole.”

Silently, they sat on the tarmac, all watching the group of soldiers watching them, until Nora piped up. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“You aren’t the only one.” Ruby shook her head, one hand moving to the throttle. “Nothing we can do about it now. Let’s get back to the others and regroup.”

As they started down the strip, Yang watched, the urge to do something chaffing at her when all she could do was maintain the stare for as long as possible, until the group disappeared behind them, lost to the snow.


	7. Pull It Together

Ruby flew them in a jagged line across the Atlesian wilderness, low enough to interfere with the radar of anyone following them at points and climbing high into turbulent clouds at others, sending the airship rocking violently at times. Unfortunately, that meant what little constitution Jaune had mustered went out the proverbial window, leaving Oswald, Nigel, and Yang to look after Jaune and Oscar, who had somewhat regained consciousness if not complete lucidity. He hadn’t spoken a word yet but the shadows in his eyes kept shifting and Yang felt willing to bet the boy was having quite the conversation with Ozpin and they would be privy to what needed to be said later. Probably for the best, anyway, as another sharp, banking turn had everyone tightening their grips on cargo netting, rails, or whatever else they could get their hands on to keep their balance.

“Who taught her how to fly?” Stryker groused, putting a hand over her mouth as she sank down to her knees.

“ _I_  did,” Yang said, the corner of her mouth lifting up into a smirk at the Alpha’s clear disdain for the amount of pride she had in that fact. “And it’s keeping all of us alive.”

“Are we sure about that?” Another sharp bank had Stryker scrambling to stabilize herself while the Omega rocked with the motion, her prosthetic hand wrapped around a suspense strap high enough that she could lift herself off the floor if she had to, and it made keeping her equilibrium a bit easier. Once their flight path evened out, she could sense the dipping of the nose; considering they were on the lower altitude side of their unpredictable pattern, it probably meant they would be landing soon. “Is it over yet?”

“Almost.” Grabbing a water bottle, she handed it off to the Alpha before heading towards the cockpit. Blake looked like she was barely holding herself together, the ribbon formerly hiding her ears gripped tightly in one hand as her eyes remained riveted to the screens before her, but everyone else seemed too focused to feel the constant rocking and swaying, the bumps of turbulence going unnoticed.

“How’s everyone, Yang?” Ruby flipped a switch then pulled back on the throttle and yoke. “Ready to get off this thing?”

“I think that’s putting it  _flightly_ ,” she said, ignoring her partner’s agonized groan and chuckling. “Jaune, Oscar, and maybe Stryker will need some time to recover. Other than that, we’re looking good.”

“Great! Now the bad news.” Her sister looked back over her shoulder. “You never taught me how to  _land_ one of these things.”

“Yes I did!”

“No, you taught her how to  _crash_.” Ren reminded, having been there when Yang went over the basics for everyone while Winter took a nap. While the Alpha served as their primary pilot, the rest of them had to learn in order to work out a schedule so she could sleep, and a brief look back on the instructions she gave did, in fact, prove that statement true.

“It’s basically the same thing; we’ll probably be fine.” She offered with a crooked grin, heading back into the cargo hold. “Grab onto something and don’t let go, everyone. We’re getting ready to land!”

“That sounds more like  _crash_ protocol.” Oswald pointed out, helping Jaune fashion a sort of harness out of the cargo netting.

“What’s the difference again?”

Nigel straightened up for a moment, after ensuring Oscar’s harness was secure and offering a mocking salute. “Well, everyone, it’s been an honor and privilege serving with you-”

“Knock it  _off_.” Stryker growled as Yang and Wisteria helped her stand, allowing the Alpha to grab another hand hold, the slight tremble in her grip ignored. The Beta seemed content to sit atop the secured cargo, gripping the cargo netting and minding her head.

Yang glanced around, getting a weak thumbs up from Jaune that she returned before reaching overhead for the strap. By her guess and the brief glance she took through the glass, they would be setting down- if one could call it that- in a bare few moments. Mentally, she ticked them off, but when she felt the sharp jerk of the airship completely disregarded that in favor of hoisting herself up. It helped a little, the first jarring impact that followed quite nearly sending her swinging, but she reached out with her other arm and found a pipe she could use to control herself somewhat, the following beating the ship’s underbelly took doing little more than rattling her around. Her gaze flicked from one ally to the next, ensuring they were all more or less okay as the rough landing jarred everyone. Jaune looked like he might lose what little he’d managed to swallow down, Oscar seemed almost limp, and everyone else was hanging on for dear life.

As the screeching of metal grinding against bark and stone came to a halt, the metal hull lurching with one final crunch, the Omega took a quick stock of everything before releasing her holds, landing lightly on her feet. She started checking on everyone in the cargo hull- Oscar and Jaune first, then Nigel and Oswald so they could attend to the others- before heading into the cockpit. The windshield had blown out during the crash, snow, dirt, twigs, and glass showered over everyone in the cockpit, but Ren had redirected his aura to shield the four from the brunt of the damage. They still groaned, though, as Yang started checking on them, ensuring they could look at her and answer a few basic questions before moving on to the next one. Beacon had covered rudimentary first aid procedures during their first month but, after Summer died, she’d learned a bit more from trial and error than a textbook.

To her utter relief, everyone seemed shaken by the landing but their auras protected them from serious injury. With a sigh and a smile, she clapped a hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “Nice landing, Sis!”

“The amount of sincerity in that sentiment terrifies me,” Blake said by way of making a joke, rubbing at her neck. “I just hope that didn’t-” Before another word could be uttered, the harsh howl of a beowolf split the air, the storm they’d flown through calming just enough for the noise to carry. “… draw attention.”

“That didn’t sound like a normal beowolf, though.” Yang muttered, peering out into the storm beyond. They’d crashed in a clearing, which somewhat made things easier, but they would have to defend the spot until the others found them and could help transport the cargo back to the main ship. The snow outside was deep, too, and that didn’t exactly make things any easier, since they couldn’t just drop the bay door and easily exit.

“Best not to chance it.” Ren unbuckled himself, reaching to his hips and checking his pistols.

They hadn’t been able to bring everyone’s weapons- Winter had made a point that most soldiers carried the mass produced sort and Crescent Rose would be far too distinctive- but they had enough to take care of a few Grimm. With a quiet grumble about being ‘boring’, Nora grabbed for the rifles secured in a holder, passing one over to Ruby while Blake reached up, ready to draw Blush with only a hint of trepidation in her expression.

Yang turned, ready to head back into the cargo hold to get everyone else going, when the distinct  _whump_ of something landing on the top of the airship stopped her, followed by three more identical sounds.

Ruby and Nora locked and loaded, Ren brought his weapons to bear towards the open windshield, Blake drew the long blade with the sharp slide of metal on metal ringing out, and she immediately turned around, pumping both arms to bring Ember Celica out, shredding the jacket and gloves in the process. The five of them watched, listening to the scrabble of claws across metal until it abruptly stopped. Then, the creature making the sound- an Alpha beowolf, as they expected- jumped onto the beaten and battered nose of the airship, growling with its mouth open wide. The flash of teeth would’ve been enough for her to take a shot but Yang instantly recognized it, reaching out to put a hand on Ren and Ruby’s shoulders.

“Wait, wait, that’s one of Winter’s!” Lilac eyes traced over the pure white fur and blue accents, glowing blue eyes peering inside the cockpit for a moment before the summon reared back and howled again. Three more appeared, jumping down from atop the airship, all four peering into the ship and sniffing, growling, waiting for something. Slowly, Yang edged forward, never quite sure how much intelligence the summons had; they could follow simple orders and had some measure of self preservation, but they didn’t appear capable of complex thought. Whether or not they could distinguish between 'friend’ and 'foe’ beyond the one who summoned them remained something of a mystery.

“Yang.” Ruby warned, still looking down the sights of the borrowed rifle.

“It’s fine,” she said, reaching out with her left hand towards the nearest beowolf, drawing close enough that she could smell the bite of white hot light and Winter’s scent, the strange combination that accompanied each summon. With a clicking of claws against metal, the creature took a step forward, brushing her knuckles with the end of its snout. The moment it did, the other three straightened up, jumping away and landing on various parts of the airship’s hull. Meanwhile, the one in front of them turned around, growling and peering out into the storm, apparently taking up watch right where it stood. “See?”

“I… didn’t think they could tell the difference between us without line of sight.” Blake slid the blade back into its sheath, one brow raised.

Ruby slowly lowered the rifle, equally confused. “Yeah, Weiss’ knight almost split me in half that one time!”

“Well, I mean, they’re Winter’s summons, and she’s been doing it for a while.” The Omega shrugged. “They’re probably… trained better, I guess?”

“Who bloody cares  _why_?” Nigel grumbled, stumbling to the entryway leading into the battered cockpit. “Let’s just be thankful we aren’t dealing with a pack of Grimm and call it a day, okay?  _That_ sound like a plan.”

“Yep! Sounds good to me!” Nora smiled wide, resting the butt of the rifle against her hip and wiping at her brow. “And when we get back to the airship, Ren’s making pancakes to celebrate a successful mission!”

“I- what?” The other Beta blinked before sighing, a small smile coming to his lips. “Is that what you were squirreling away in here the whole time?”

“And a few other things.” She shrugged. “You can’t fight ultimate evil on an empty stomach!”

Yang laughed along with her friends while Ren shook his head, though she eventually noticed the Atlesian’s slack jaw. “What’s the matter? You alright?”

“We just crashed in the wilderness during a storm.” The Omega gestured around them, a familiar sort of dread infecting his voice. “How can you lot  _joke_ at a time like this?”

As Yang’s lips pulled into a frown, Nora laughed even harder, reaching out to snatch Nigel’s lapel and bring him closer, smile still intact. “Hey, buddy, do me a favor, will ya?” In a flash, the Beta’s expression morphed into one of barely restrained fury and sharpened seriousness. “Remember that you’re talking to people who’ve watched their homes burn to the ground more than once, whose very lives have been undone by Grimm, enemies, and supposed comrades multiple times, and who are still mourning those we’ve lost along the way.” She leaned in closer, narrowing her eyes. “Sometimes, the only thing we’ve had left is a laugh, and if Salem and all her little friends couldn’t take that from us, we aren’t letting you snatch it away. Got it?”

“Y-yeah.” He nodded jerkily and swallowed, offering a broken, hesitant smile in return. “Message received.”

“Great!” Nora pulled back, smile back in place though it had lost some of its shine. “Now, we’ll need to get ready to bunker down here for a while, right, Ruby?”

“Yeah, at least until-”

Two thuds interrupted her, much softer than when the beowolves landed but no less forceful. Hardly two seconds later, the new arrivals dropped down in front of the broken windshield, both looking harried. Weiss and Winter, eyes wide and breathing heavily, searching the interior of the cockpit before the line of their shoulders relaxed as some of the urgency left their expressions, the younger of the sisters shooting forward and ignoring the broken glass to throw herself at her mate, nearly bowling the Faunus over in the process.

“Blake! Are you hurt? We didn’t expect you back this soon- were you found out? Did you fight? Where does it hurt, show me-” Slim hands started roaming and again Yang felt a pang of jealousy, though it didn’t seem to reach nearly as deep as the last time. She still had to turn her gaze away as her teammates talked- one nigh frantic and the other reassuring, their voices dropping into that soft, gentle tone often shared between mates.

“Yang?” He gaze snapped up as the other Alpha entered the cockpit, far more carefully than her sibling. “Are you injured?”

“Nah, I’m fine,” she said, glancing down at her wrists and shaking them once to return Ember Celica to their smaller form even as a hand lightly fell on her shoulder. Now confronted with the woman again… her thoughts scattered a little, making it difficult to tell what she should say next. Ultimately, she settled on the obvious. “Your idea worked perfectly, by the way.” Yang bit her lip, wondering how much she should divulge now and how much to wait for later. All things considered, it would probably be best to wait when there wasn’t a storm, sick comrades, and a pounding headache to distract them. “Maybe… a little too well.” She glanced up, noting the concern pinching the woman’s expression. “You should definitely be there when we go over everything.”

“Of course.” For a moment, she thought the Alpha would move into the cargo bay- almost hoped it, because now she had Winter’s scent filling her lungs again, and it pained her to note how it seemed so muted now as opposed to before. Instead, the woman shifted where she stood. “Are you sure you’re uninjured? It must’ve been quite the crash, considering the damage…”

“Yeah, I’m good. Promise.” She flashed a little smile, a trill of happiness running through her chest at the relief that finally swept away the remaining rigidity in the Alpha’s posture. “Jaune and Oscar are pretty rough, though.”

“We’ll need help getting all the cargo back, too.” Ruby piped up, lightly pulling on the back of her partner’s shirt to separate the mated pair, a blush coming to Blake’s cheeks as she fastened the buttons on the uniform jacket again. “There’s a lot of it.”

“Tell me what you need done; the others will be here shortly to lend a hand, but our summons can attend to the brunt of it.” Before Winter- and a somewhat reluctant Weiss- moved to start the process of busting open the hull of the airship to retrieve the supplies, she looked back at Yang, their gazes meeting. “I knew you could do it but I am utterly relieved to have you back safe.”

It hurt, a little bit, but it felt good, too. She would never be the woman’s mate but she could see very plainly the sense of peace that seemed to come over the Alpha; the concern was touching, even if only meant in a platonic manner. If nothing else, she had a staunch ally in the woman, and as much as it hurt to try and content herself with that, it was something. “Thanks. Here, I’ll-”

“Rest, for now at least.” The woman’s voice took on a slight edge. “You’ve earned it. Weiss and I can see to the details.” Winter then moved her hands, deft fingers reaching behind Yang’s head, and she tensed for a brief moment before relaxing. In the blink of an eye, the tightness at her temples receded entirely, her hair released from its prison and flowing freely over her shoulders. “There. Better?”

“Much.” Instantly, she reached up, running her fingers through her hair and sighing. Already, her headache had died down some, allowing her to breath a little easier. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” Winter replied, putting a hand on her shoulder again and lightly pressing until the Omega sat in the now vacant seat, Nora and Ren having ducked into the cargo hold after Weiss to assist with breaking open the hull. “Now take some time to recuperate. You’ve done a lot today.”

Wanting to avoid an argument- and relish her reclaimed freedom for a bit- Yang merely nodded, waiting until the Alpha had disappeared into the cargo hold before leaning her head back with eyes closed and sighing deeply. She still had a headache but it had calmed considerably and she sank bonelessly into the seat, only straightening up when she heard a stifled chuckle. Cracking one eye open, she saw her partner sitting across from her, apparently sidelined as well.

That brought a frown to her lips. “You okay, Blake?”

“Of course.” One brow raised as the Faunus chuckled, spreading her hands. “You honestly think Weiss is going to let me lift a finger right now?”

Her expression tightened as she glanced out the shattered windows, focusing on the snow being whipped by the wind into waves of flurries. Her gut twisted into a knot, nearly forcing her to her feet. “I should-”

“Sit down, Yang.” Amber eyes caught hers and held them when she glanced back. “If Weiss won’t let  _me_ help out, you know Winter won’t let you.”

“It’s different-”

“Maybe it’s not to her.” Blake leaned forward, not wanting to risk raising her voice even as the crunch and screech of metal met their ears, cold wind sweeping through the airship’s interior thanks to the newly made hole in the hull. “Maybe she’s having second thoughts or regrets. Did you two talk it out?”

“Of course we did!” Burying both hands in her newly freed hair, she busied herself with teasing out the strands and massaging her skull, hoping it might decrease the pounding in her head. “We… stuff like this happens, Blakey. We weren’t on the same page until it became  _obvious_ and I took responsibility for my fuck up. That’s- that’s as much as I can do.”

“Well, how does she feel about it?” The Faunus prodded a bit more, spreading her hands. “Did you ask her?”

“C'mon, are you serious right now?” The Omega shook her head, leaning back as more thuds and screeching metal met their ears. “If you got marked by someone you weren’t interested in, would you really wanna talk about it?”

“ _I_  wouldn’t put myself in the position to begin with,” she said in response, ears laying back a little. “And neither would Weiss, for that matter. Do you  _really_ think Winter-”

“It’s what she’s  _trained_ to do.” Yang cut her best friend off, throwing a slightly heated glare towards Blake as her headache and eyes flared. “She made a pragmatic decision. It didn’t pan out. I get that, she gets that, so if  _everyone else_  could get that, I’d really appreciate it.”

Although they didn’t continue the conversation beyond that- and she got too antsy to remain sitting there with those amber eyes watching her- she could feel the mounting pressure of the whole issue bearing down on her like a bitter winter rain. No matter how many times she tried to put it behind her, someone or something would draw it back to the surface, and when she stepped into the back half of the airship, with the snow falling into it like an open sardine can as Weiss’ knight and Winter’s Nevermores began ferrying supplies back to the main ship, it hit all over again. The Alpha’s gaze landed on her and her mouth opened, likely to send her back to the decimated cockpit, but it clicked shut without a word escaping; Winter respected her, wouldn’t push or pull beyond the Omega’s limits, and realized there would be no dissuading her from picking up a crate and clamoring her way out of the cargo hold with it.

Yang ignored the pain in her chest and mumbled a thanks when the woman wordlessly came to help instead.

At least they stood to finish the task quicker this way.

* * *

Yang leaned against the wall as everyone shuffled into the room, Qrow and Port knocking snow from their jackets while Goodwitch and Oobleck looked no worse for wear, even if the latter seemed to be vibrating moreso than usual. They’d seen the hasty take off and surmised from the erratic flight path that it could be no one other than the group flying out through the storm, each making their way back while covering their trails as best they could. At first, they’d all been in high spirits, but upon finding Oscar in his near catatonic state and the grim expressions worn by the others, they’d gathered that the quick mission hadn’t been easy.

Scanning around, the Omega took note of who all had arrived. They’d opted to remain grounded for now, so everyone could be on the same page, but a particular member of their ragtag group was missing. Winter and Weiss had remained in the cargo hold while the majority headed towards the mess upon finishing the cargo transport, arranging the crates and storing the dust so the volatile substance wouldn’t run the rick of exploding. The younger sibling had rejoined them rather quickly, hovering around Blake and fetching an extra blanket from  _somewhere_ to ensure the Faunus felt warm enough.

For a moment, some traitorous part of her brain imagined what Winter would do for her, if somehow Blake had the right of it and there still existed a chance for her mark to be reciprocated. Not that it would be, of course- the damned thing had to be entirely gone now, nothing more than a memory- but she could see the picture clearly. The Alpha wouldn’t bother with a blanket, knowing she could warm herself up easily enough, but she  _would_ be the sort to fetch a treat, a cup of hot coco and a warm bowl of soup, something to replenish the energy lost. Maybe even hold her, arms around the Omega’s waist, head’s side-by-side as she pressed soft kisses along Yang’s neck, maybe a nip to the mark as a way to get her blood pumping-

_Dear brain, kindly fuck off._

She couldn’t help but groan while reaching up to massage at her temple. Blake shouldn’t have put the thoughts in her head; she’d already had enough problems just trying to breath around the woman without turning into a mess, and now she couldn’t find any peace even when Winter was nowhere near.

Still… she couldn’t help but look around again and worry. Where was the Alpha?

“You okay, Sis?” Ruby kept her voice down, having switched back to her customary uniform and rubbing the cross fasteners with idle fingers. No one else had managed to change quite as quickly, though they’d divested themselves of the jackets and such once in the airship.

“Yeah. Just, ya know. A lot to go over,” she said, scanning the room again and feeling some relief come over her as Winter brushed her way inside, followed closely by Stryker. Neither looked particularly happy and the latter immediately joined her team on the opposite side of the room while the former remained by the doorway. “I’m going to talk to Winter real quick-”

“Don’t you think that stuff should wait until after we’ve gone over everything?”

“Wait until- what?” Her brows furrowed for a moment before the dots connected. “Oh, no. It’s- it’s nothing personal. It’s about what we learned.”

Her sister bit her lip, nodding towards the rest of the room. “Everyone’s here now. Should we wait?”

Yang weighed her options before nodding. “Yeah, stay here. Just… buy me some time. Go over all the supplies and stuff we brought back or something.”

“Alright.”

While her sister launched into getting everyone’s attention and attending to the supply details, the Omega made her way over, touching the woman’s shoulder and nodding her head through the doorway. Winter raised a brow but followed silently, stepping out into the hallway with her before the door slid shut.

“I wanted to talk to you about something before it comes up during the briefing,” she said, trying to fit the words together even as she stood there. “While we were on base, I met someone who said they knew you. A Commander Cotta-”

“You met with Terry?” Relief and surprise broke across the Alpha’s face and it pained her heart to see it. “That certainly explains the quick trip; they took care of you, I assume?”

“Kinda.” Her mouth worked for a moment, trying to find the words, but they failed her. The only thing she could latch onto was a single sentiment. “I’m sorry.”

Winter’s brows knit together, worry quickly flashing in her eyes. “Yang? What’s wrong?”

She couldn’t find a way to word it to lessen the blow, so she adopted the tried and true manner of the Schnees and used the blunt path. “Commander Cotta is the sleeper. They told me to my face they’ve been working with Salem directly.”

“What?” The woman drew back, shaking her head and blinking profusely. “That- that can’t be right. Terry would never betray Atlas like that- never-”

Yang put her hands up in a placating gesture, watching as confusion morphed to anger. “Winter, I know this is hard, but I wouldn’t be telling you this if it wasn’t true.” The Alpha bared her teeth for a moment before turning away, pacing along the hallway and muttering to herself, angry snatches that passed too quickly for her to parse. “I’m sorry-”

“You don’t understand.” Winter snapped, hands balled into fists at her sides as blue eyes flashed with fury.

“They were your partner, they were your best friend- they told me that, too.” Taking a chance, she stepped forward and set her hands on the woman’s shoulders, bringing her to a halt and forcing their eyes to meet. “I know this hurts. I… I know what it’s like to feel like your partner’s abandoned you. And I’m sorry.”

For a moment, the Alpha didn’t say anything, obviously seething with barely contained fury. Yet, she didn’t try to pull away or break contact, standing still and looking off somewhere in the distance beyond Yang, eyes unseeing. It broke her heart a little to see the despondent expression, as if trying to make sense of the senseless with little success. “What else did they tell you?”

“That… they’re glad you learned how to smile.” Too many emotions flashed in blue eyes then, lips drawing into a tight line as her head tilted down. Yang moved, trying to catch her gaze to little avail. “They made it sound like you didn’t do that much before.”

“If ever,” she replied. Winter appeared to snap back to the present a moment later, turning away and breaking the contact between them. She did so slowly, though, not tearing herself away but making it clear that she didn’t want to stay. “Thank you for telling me this. I…” The Alpha took a few steps, almost as if to resume her pacing before her posture straightened, hands clasping tightly behind her back. “I will receive a full brief from Weiss later. Right now… I would rather be alone.”

“Wait, there’s a few more things they said.” Yang barely resisted the urge to follow after the woman, sense warring with her natural inclination. If she wanted to be alone, it would be best to respect that; at the same time, the pain, anger, and confusion in her expression made the Omega want to be the one to comfort her. However, she still had more to relay, and it likely wouldn’t be received well. Still, better to let it all out now, let the burden settle, and then do… something. It would likely fall to Weiss to be the one to comfort her sister but… with a mental shake of her head to refocus her attention, Yang continued. “They wanted you to know that you’re even now; they won’t pull any punches if-  _when_ we faced down Salem. And, uh, that they’re okay.”

For a moment, the woman remained silent and then slowly turned back with a furrow in her brow to look at the Omega. “Is that what they said? They’re 'okay’?”

“Well, their exact words were 'I’m just peachy’, but that’s the gist-”

“Wait.” Winter turned back towards her, focused and intense as she closed the distance. “ _That’s_ what they said? 'Peachy’?”

“Yeah?” She raised a brow. It should probably concern her how quickly the Alpha’s mood turned around but she didn’t feel especially threatened. If anything, the woman looked more relieved than crestfallen now. “Does that… mean something?”

“It does.” The words seemed to catch in her throat, eyes going to the door. “We should rejoin the others, though. It’s information  _everyone_  will need to hear.”

“Alright,” Yang said. She turned to open the door but stopped short when a hand landed on her forearm. When she looked up into blue eyes, she could see many things- the lingering anger, a small amount of hope, more frustration- but she also saw the small, almost imperceptible curling of the woman’s lips.

“Thank you. For… telling me first.” Her gaze darted towards the door. “I appreciate that.”

The Omega paused, trying to beat down the little blush she could feel beginning to rise in her cheeks. “No problem.”

Not wanting to linger on the moment too long, Yang lead the way back into the room, nodding at Ruby to start the briefing.

“Okay, so now we get to the important part.” Silver eyes flashed as her younger sister adopted a more serious tone; it seemed like she’d grown up far too fast in the past year. “While we were on the base, Yang found out the identity of Salem’s agent and Oscar found… something.” He shook his head when her gaze fell on him, still shaken up by whatever he’d gotten into, and Ruby rolled with it. “You wanna take over, Sis?”

“Yeah, I got it.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “Almost as soon as we arrived, one of the soldiers confronted me, and it split me off from everyone else to deal with her.”

“Didja get a name?” Qrow’s gaze shifted to Winter. “Maybe she’s a friend of yours, Ice Queen.”

Yang winced. “Her name was Semper, that’s all I know on that front, and she’s not the mole. She just works under them.”

“I think there’s a bit of background that would be pertinent to the discussion,” Winter said, saving the Omega from trying to tactfully admit her uncle wasn’t exactly far off with his guess. “During my days at Atlas Academy, I had a team of my own. My partner, Terry Cotta, ultimately joined the Atlesian military as an officer, and they worked to create a new branch of the force- a specialized team geared towards tactical wetwork. Semper is a member of that team.”

“I don’t like seeing smoke if there’s no fire.” Goodwitch tilted her head, narrowing her eyes behind her glasses. “But I feel you’re implying that your ex partner is Salem’s agent.”

“They are. They admitted as much to Yang, among other things.”

Immediately, Qrow pushed off the wall. “You’re takin’ this pretty calm.”

“ _With_ due reason.” She growled in response, eventually turning her gaze to Yang and nodding. “Continue.”

“Right.” Shaking her head, she tried to get back on track. “Anyway, after I got separated from everyone, Cotta took me to an office and straight up told me they worked for Salem and that the relic’s already been found and is on its way to Vacuo. They agreed to let us take supplies and an airship with no trouble, said it was a show of sportsmanship, and to repay a debt to Winter so she doesn’t hold back when it inevitably comes down to a fight.” She paused, deciding to open the door for whatever revelation Winter had. “They also asked me to pass along a message to Winter, let her know that they’re doing 'peachy’. I guess that has some sort of significance.”

“It does.” The woman nodded, looking around the room. “I realize it may seem strange to trust the word of someone who’s admitted to working for Salem but I feel confident that Terry is trying to warn us.”

“What, that Salem’s developing peach based Grimm?” Qrow sneered, throwing his arms wide. “We can’t trust anyone working for that witch, you know that-”

“This is different.” Winter insisted. “During our time at the Academy, my team came up with code words- we often separated on assignments and used our communications to remain in contact, but we were aware they could be easily overhead, so we developed a method of communication that wouldn’t sound out of place but could convey information. 'Peach’, and all its variations, was our duress word; it’s a sign that the person transmitting is doing so against their will or in significant danger.” She nodded towards Yang. “Terry very specifically wanted to relay  _that_ word to me and they provided us with supplies we desperately needed.” Although it obviously pained her to speak the words, she did so anyway. “I can’t deny that Terry is working with Salem and has likely done terrible things because of that. But I firmly believe they’re more prisoner than willing accomplice.”

“ _Of course_  you’d believe that.”

“Qrow!” Goodwitch snapped, mollified when he apparently dropped whatever he’d planned to say next. “Regardless if Cotta is fully under Salem’s regime or merely a victim of circumstance, we’ve still a relic to recover.”

“Yes, but now we’ve the added concern about where the blasted thing might be!” Port’s mustache quivered as he shook his head. “If Salem truly recovered the relic before us, then it’s headed southwest, but if that’s a lie, then we’ve got to go northeast! We can’t be in two places at once.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, it does seem like that’s a fair point to make.” Oobleck pushed his glasses higher up his nose. “If Terry was trying to warn us, the tip that it’s heading to Vacuo might be real and we’re losing time on catching up to the transport. Conversely, if it was meant to mislead us, then we’ve no idea if the relic has already been recovered or if Salem’s agents are still looking for it and require more time, hence the distraction.”

“Wait, northeast?” Yang furrowed her brows. “I thought the grounds were to the northwest.”

“Yes, you probably got that idea from the old map of Atlas’ military facilities we’ve been using for navigation, but it’s far out-of-date; good for plotting the course but not accurate for a final destination.” He reached behind him, drawing out a piece of paper from his back pocket. “Ironwood gave us this during our meeting to make locating the relic easier, though he specifically charged the Commander of that base with the minute details.”

“Let me see the map.” She held out her hand, unfolding the piece of paper and tapping a finger where the Commander had indicated- where she’d thought the current initiation grounds were. “What’s here?”

“That’s the  _old_ initiation grounds,” Winter said with a shrug. “It was overrun by parasitic Grimm and became too dangerous for initiates; no one’s been out there in decades.”

“That’s where Cotta pointed to when they told me it’s where they found the relic.” Her head snapped up. “ _That’s_ where the relic is.”

“What makes you so certain?” Port peered down on the map. “Of the three options we have, that definitely seems like the weakest shot to take.”

“Not if you think about it.” Yang nodded towards Winter. “You said that code word was developed for if someone was  _listening_ to your communications but we were the only ones there- just me and the Commander. No one to hear, unless the office was wired. Then, what Cotta said was intentionally misleading us with two strains of misinformation; to anyone listening, they’re not betraying Salem and they’re actively trying to sabotage our efforts to retrieve it no matter what we picked. They only  _pointed_ to this section of the map, which means they knew they were being listened to and could  _only_ use physical means of communicating where the relic really is.”

“As much as I hate to admit it… she’s got a point.” Qrow winced, scratching at the back of his neck. “Ironwood himself said only the commander of the base knew, and if this Cotta person is the one who took the job, then they must know exactly where it is- no searching required.” He frowned. “But they could just as easily be using us as a battering ram to get to it.”

“I, uh, I feel like there’s a lot of guessing going around,” Jaune said, shrinking back slightly as all eyes turned to him. “I’m just saying- we’re up to, what, four possible outcomes right now? The relic is either on its way to Vacuo, somewhere in the northeast training grounds, somewhere in the north _west_  training grounds, and even then we might be tricked into getting it only to lose it because that’s what they wanted us to do?” He shrugged. “I mean, we don’t have any  _real_ information leading one way or another-”

“I trusted Cotta with my life for years; they would not betray me now.”

“You’re letting your personal feelings cloud your judgement, Ice Queen; this isn’t  _about_ you.”

“She has a better handle on the situation than you do.” Weiss cut in, held in place only by Blake grabbing her arm.

“Enough!” Ruby waited until everyone had settled down. “Honestly, I think we should treat  _all_ of the possibilities as valid until proven otherwise.”

For a moment, everyone was silent, until finally Stryker spoke up. “How the  _fuck_ do we do that?”

“We split up.” She gestured towards Weiss. “Doctor Oobleck, Weiss, and I will go to the northwest training grounds. We’re the fastest ones here; we can get in and get out, hopefully before the Grimm even notice.” She paused. “Blake and Uncle Qrow will come too; between the two of you, I think the Grimm will be distracted enough they won’t notice us.”

Tilting his head, Qrow bent closer to Blake’s ear. “Did she basically just call us Grimm bait?”

“Out of this group? That’s… pretty accurate.”

“Team ORNJ and Team SNOW can head to the northeast training grounds.” Ruby continued, ignoring the sidebar conversations as best she could. “It’s a larger area, so spread out and see if you can find the relic there.” Silver eyes landed on Oscar, who slowly shook his head. “Jaune, you’re in charge of that group.”

“What-”

“Silence, you twit.” Winter snapped out, bringing a halt to Stryker’s objection. “This isn’t a training exercise and you’ll get no medals. Focus on keeping your team alive, not who’s in charge.”

“Bickering aside, that’s only two possible avenues covered and over half our number indisposed.” Oobleck pointed out as Stryker… well, 'pouted’ would be a good word for it. “What of the possibility of it being transported to Vacuo?”

“We contact Team SSSN and let  _them_ handle that. If there’s anyone who’s going to intercept an airship midflight, I’m pretty sure Sun would like a chance to do it.” Ruby chuckled, shaking her head slightly. “That leaves Oscar, Professor Goodwitch, and Professor Port, who can stay here on the ship, since any of us could need a quick pick up.”

Yang frowned, glancing at Winter. “What’s that leave us doing then?”

For a moment, she could see the unspoken apology in her sister’s expression, but only just. “You two are going back to the base.”

“No.” Qrow immediately raised his voice. “That’s not happening!”

“Let her finish,” Yang said, hoping it would preempt whatever sharp rebuke lay on the Alpha’s tongue, blue eyes flashing towards the man. When the Omega’s gaze landed on Ruby, she held up both hands in a placating manner. “There’s a reason.”

“It’s a lousy reason.”

“It’s a two fold thing.” Her sister continued, nodding at Winter and ignoring their uncle’s objection. “ _You_ need to find out if the Commander is under Salem of their own will or is being forced into it. If it was Blake or Weiss, Yang and I would be the same way, and that goes the other way around, so I get it. We  _need_ to know if they’re an enemy or just forced into the role.” She spread her hands. “And if they  _are_ trying to use us to make a dent in the Grimm up there, you two can keep them busy at the base while we go in and get the relic. You two start ahead of us, keep any transports from leaving, and we should be good; we all saw their hangar and know that all the airships are accounted for, except the one we crashed. With you two at the base, we know what Doctor Oobleck, Weiss, and I might find when we arrive at the old initiation site.”

“There has to be a better way.”

“I don’t think there is.” Goodwitch raised a hand to her chin while her brows furrowed in thought. “I  _hate_  to admit it, but the plan is solid.” She looked at Ruby. “But I think it would be better to leave Peter here on the ship and for me to accompany Winter and Yang. Two people against a full base of Atlesian soldiers are not odds I’d be willing to take.”

“As much as I’d like to second that notion, flying this ship is one thing.  _Defending it_ , quite another.” Port subtly glanced at Oscar. “I can do one or the other, yes, but even my considerable skills are stretched thin to do both, and this plan may require flying into some hostile areas.”

“And, at the end of this, the airship is our biggest asset,” Ruby said. “We really can’t afford to lose it but Winter and Yang don’t have to win or even fight; after they recon the hangar and Winter confronts the Commander, they can sabotage and evade.” She sighed. “I know it’s risky, but none of us have a 'safe’ alternative. At least this way, when we regroup, we can leave Atlas for good, and it’s the best chance we have at leaving one relic heavier than when we arrived.”

“Do we really need seven people to search the northeast grounds though?” Stryker nodded at the map. “It’s not much bigger than the northwest ones and you’re doing it with half that.” Before anyone could offer much of an explanation, the air in the room stirred, and Yang crossed her arms with a smirk curling her lips as the Alpha straightened up. “Why is everyone-”

“Cup of Joe?” Oobleck offered, his own mug in one hand and a new one in the other, steam wafting from the top.

“Uh, yeah…” She accepted it with slight trepidation, casting a glance around. “Wait, where’d you get this from?”

“The coffee machine in the mess.”

“That’s… two decks up-”

“I know,” he replied, taking a calm sip of his own cup.

Slowly, the pieces fell together, and Stryker took a sip of the coffee as everything finally clicked. “Right… fastest ones here. So, that’s your semblance?”

Port immediately began laughing heartily. “No, that’s just good ol’ Barty! Why I recall one time-”

“Peter.” Goodwitch lightly admonished, shaking her head and looking back to Ruby. “I believe that covers all the bases. We should attempt contact with Team SSSN immediately.” She turned towards the door. “Peter, Bartholomew, will you look after Oscar?”

“Oh, what, not gonna order me around, too?” Qrow raised a brow but found himself caught by the ear a moment later.

“You are coming with me. We have some topics to discuss.”

That served as the end of their debriefing, the map folded back up and replaced in Oobleck’s pocket while Team SNOW filed out through one doorway, Team RWBY and Winter heading through the other. While Blake and Weiss turned to head towards their quarters for some much needed rest- or, well, whatever newly minted mates did to unwind, she supposed- Winter hung back while Yang quickened her pace, following after her sister until they’d reached halfway to the cockpit, at which point she tapped Ruby on the shoulder.

“What’s up, Yang?” Her smile faltered, glancing away. “It’s, uh, about pairing you and Winter off, huh?”

“I was actually gonna ask if you’re enjoying the weather,” she replied wryly, crossing her arms over her chest. “But, now that you mention it, that  _is_ a pretty good question, too.”

They stared at each other and some part of her  _wished_ she could be mad, or at least suggest a better alternative, but there really wasn’t one, except leaving her behind in the ship while Goodwitch went with Winter. But the thought of it… bothered her.

“Yang, I know it’s not ideal.” For a moment, the young woman standing before her was her sister, little Rubes who looked up to her. And then it passed and there stood Ruby, her team leader, her sister in arms and in blood. “But even if things didn’t work out for you two, you still care about her.  _A lot_. When Winter goes to the base, there’s a pretty big chance she’s going to be blinded by her emotions. You didn’t see her at the Festival when Uncle Qrow provoked her into a fight, but imagine Weiss when we first met her, but  _much_ worse.”

“I don’t need help imagining it,” she said without thinking, muttering a curse as she looked away. “Look, I get sending someone with her as back up. I do. But why me?”

“Because out of everyone here, only you and Weiss stand a chance at pulling her out of it alive.” She reached out, setting a hand on Yang’s shoulder. “And you care about her.”

With a wince, she turned her head away. “Ruby…”

“Yang.” Looking back, she saw sympathy flashing in silver eyes along a fierce sort of determination. “You care about her. You’re not the type of person to give up on others once you’ve decided to care, and you’ll go to the ends of Remnant to protect them. Even… even when they don’t do things to deserve it.” She shrugged. “Even if it’s… not in the way you wanted… you’d rather be right there with her than anywhere else.”

“Just because you’re  _right_ doesn’t mean I have to  _like_ it,” she said, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. It felt so good to have it free and flowing again. “Y'know… Uncle Qrow thinks I should just… forget about it, I guess.”

“Yeah, that’s not like you.” Ruby chuckled. “And, for the record, she cares about you, too.” She tilted her head. “Weiss said they were both going mad worrying over us- and I get Weiss pacing the whole airship worried about Blake, and even worried about us… but Winter was concerned about  _you_.”

Her heart jumped into her throat, hope making her chest tighten for one liberating moment before reality came back to steady her. “That’s… because she’s the one who helped us prepare. She knew sending me there posing as a Specialist would be dangerous; she felt responsible.”

Her sister’s shoulders fell for a moment and then she seemed to recover. “Okay, fine, even if we look at it like that- you both are at least friends, right?”

“Yeah, I… I guess.” It was a bitter consolation prize… but it did soothe the ache in her heart, somewhat.

“Then do this as a friend.” Silver eyes met hers, pleading. “Be the friend she needs right now. Maybe things will change down the line, maybe they won’t, but right now, we’ve got a lot of work to do, almost no time to do it, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance.” She put her hands up. “But no pressure!”

Barking out a laugh, Yang shook her head. “Yeah, right, thanks for putting it in perspective.”

She brushed some hair behind her ear, pausing to weigh her options. Ruby had a pretty solid point, as much as she’d tried denying it. She  _did_ still care for Winter, as evidenced by the pain in her chest hardly a few hours ago when confronted with the woman’s relief at her safe return. And, really, if it was going to be anyone watching her back as she potentially walked into a trap… it  _should_ be Yang. If she went with any other group, she’d be distracted entirely, some part of her mind distracted- the same as she worried about Blake and Ruby and Weiss, but this ran… deeper.

“Yang?” Her gaze snapped to silver eyes, clouded with concern. “Do you want to do this? We can still change the plan.”

Want- not 'can’, because Ruby never doubted whether or not she  _could_ , but did she  _want_  to do it, as if saying no was an option. Knowing her sister, it was.

“Yeah.” She nodded resolutely. “I’ll have Winter’s back.”

“Okay. If you change your mind, let me know.”

As her sister continued on her way, Yang stood there and waited until she’d slipped out of sight before turning and leaning back against the wall. When her head made a soft thunk against the metal, she sighed heavily.

As much as it tortured her, she really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Blake and Weiss would watch after each other and Ruby- they were a team first and foremost, and with Oobleck and Qrow there too, she could be sure they’d be alright. Jaune, Nora, and Ren could keep Team SNOW out of trouble, and Port and Goodwitch could provide the back-up and extraction everyone would need. The only place for her to help… was with Winter.

Reaching up, she rubbed at her face. They didn’t have a whole lot of time- an hour or two tops- before they would need to be on the move again.

“Game face,” she said, slapping her cheeks and shaking her head. “Pull yourself together.”

Pushing off from the wall, she headed towards the mess. Something to eat would help her focus at the very least.


	8. Alpha and Omega

The airship hummed along, on the way north at a pretty good clip while all but Goodwitch and Port stood in the loading bay. In the past hour, they’d hashed out the specifics, and Yang checked over the dust smoke shells Ruby had given her. They only had two to spare, each a different color- yellow and red. They’d worked out a simple system: nothing if it seemed like no one had left the base, yellow if they’d face a little resistance at the training grounds, and red if they should withdraw and try to work out a different plan. She  _really_ hoped they didn’t end up using the red one but tucked the shells- fitted to be the same size as she shot from Ember Celica- into her belt.

“Winter, Yang, we’re almost to your stop.” Ruby stepped away from a panel and nodded towards them. “You’ve only got about a thirty minute window to get to the base and pop the smoke, if it’s needed. After that, you’ll need to wait at least  _another_  thirty minutes before you try breaching the base’s perimeter.”

“And then we make it back to the ravine and await pick up; a fairly straight forward plan.” Winter inspected her blade before replacing it at her hip, taking a moment to shift the heavy coat she wore. Waiting for the airship to start towards the training areas would mean a lot of sitting still in the snow, so they’d both worn the protective gear and a pack with a few blankets just in case. “If all goes well, we’re regrouped in three hours and heading towards Vale.”

“That’s the plan.” With a nod, she turned and threw her arms around Yang’s shoulders. “Be careful out there.”

“You too, Rubes.” She chuckled, returning the hug. “Keep an eye on Uncle Qrow for me, okay?”

“Hey, ain’t that supposed to be the other way around?” The man feigned offense with a crooked little grin. “Best of luck, you two.” His gaze flicked to Winter for a moment. “You’re going to need it.”

The woman had completely missed the look shot her way, however, more concerned with the quiet exchange she was having with Weiss, which ended with a seeming stalemate and a quick hug.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Weiss said, stepping back to stand beside Blake.

“Like throw myself into a raging fire?” The elder sibling quipped back with a smile. “I’ll try.”

“Thirty seconds,” Ruby said, quickly running over to throw her arms around the blonde’s waist. “Be careful, Yang. Bring both of you back, okay?”

“We’ll be fine,” she replied, offering a smile. “Just make sure you lot don’t get bitten by those bug Grimm. And if things look hairy, just bounce out, and we’ll go back together, okay?” With a nod, they separated, Yang walking to the top of the ramp to stand beside Winter. “Ready?”

“Absolutely.” The woman’s eyes glanced her way briefly. “Just follow my lead; I’ll get us to the ground quickly and safely.”

For a moment, she considered pointing out that she could get to the ground just fine on her own, but bit it back. It would be a hard enough mission without starting off on the wrong foot, and she could at least take a little bit of solace from the way the Alpha winced, as if regretting her word choice.

“Ten seconds.” They both set their feet, leaning forward- not quite a sprinter’s form, but obviously ready to run. “Five, four, three, two, one- go!”

Without a second thought, they took off, running down the length of the ramp and falling into the air headfirst in dives. Port had taken them to a much higher altitude above the ravine, giving them plenty of room to maneuver; he would likely be dropping down to follow it north soon, but they were already angling towards the trees that separated them from the base. The wind whipped at them, cold and biting, but Yang managed to keep her eyes open enough to follow as Winter veered towards the forest. She had to spread her arms out a little bit, a few pounds heavier than the Alpha and nearly falling faster, and she briefly considered leveling off. This was nothing like being launched into the Emerald Forest for initiation, of course, but she trusted Winter to live up to her word and followed the steep dive, watching as they approached the tops of the trees.

Then Winter tucked her chin into her chest, flipping around so she was falling feet first, and the Omega copied the motion, looking down against the wind lashing at her face to see a black snowflake appearing below them. Unlike Weiss’, which were mostly stationary, this one moved, allowing for a smooth landing by the woman a few seconds before Yang’s boots hit it, their momentum transferred as they were flipped around and released- falling much slower now. They repeated the motions a few times before coming finding themselves dropping down among the branches, able to jump from one to another while descending until they both landed on a white snowflake hovering just a few inches above the snow covered ground.

“Well… that’s one way to make an entrance,” she said with a smirk, rather proud of herself for biting back the ‘falling for you’ pun that lay waiting for her. “So now we just head west?”

“Yes. We should be about even with the south side of the base.” With a nod, Winter created a walkway of snowflakes ahead of them. “We can move quickly along these, and leave no trace of our whereabouts.”

“Good thinkin’.” She pumped her arms once, looking forward to when they’d leave the damned frozen north of Atlas and she wouldn’t need a heavy, stifling coat. “Race ya?”

The Alpha gave a small grin. “Loser buys dinner?”

“You Schnees have terrible senses of humor,” she replied. “But you’re on.”

After a moment of looking at each other, they took off, running at a smooth pace they could both maintain for a few miles, aided along by the glyphs. They probably couldn’t walk to the base at this distance in the allotted time but they’d be able to get within line of sight in about fifteen minutes, and there was a little ridge that ran along the south that would provide a pretty decent vantage point of the hangar.

The cold air burned her lungs and sweat collected on her brow- probably a bad sign but it really couldn’t be helped- as Winter effortlessly kept pace beside her. The Alpha obviously wasn’t taking their little competition seriously; she had longer legs and could outpace her without much effort if she wanted to but seemed rather content to run alongside her. On the one hand, it felt nice, and she could almost forget the dire circumstances surrounding their mission. But on the other… well. They probably wouldn’t be doing this if not for the situation.

It almost felt like their sparring sessions used to, though- not a true contest, but a way of enjoying the other’s presence, a conversation that didn’t need words.

She’d really missed it.

As they came to the top of the ridge, they slowed down, the last snowflake just up ahead before they could give away their position. Before they reached it, Winter stopped running all together and Yang landed on it with a furrowed brow, turning back to see the woman’s smile.

“Looks like I owe you lunch.”

Half a dozen replied popped into her head, ranging from chiding to teasing, but she opted for the safest route. “Guess so.” Clearing her throat, she gulped down more air and nodded. “We’d better do the recon.”

The Alpha pressed her lips into a thin line. “Right.”

Yang turned towards the top of the ridge and crouched low, advancing on a snowflake as the other woman appeared beside her. They eventually had to lay prone and peek over the top, pulling binoculars from their belts.

She bit her lip with a shake of her head. “Can’t get a good enough angle to see into the hangar but the runway looks like it hasn’t been cleared recently.”

“Considering our sisters are the ones who may encounter resistance, I’d rather be sure.” Winter grumbled and shuffled back until she could stand without fear of being seen. “I’ll go around to the east side of the base.”

“Then you’re coming back, right?” Her brows furrowed, unsure what had sparked the sudden aggression from the Alpha. “You’re not going to charge in ahead of schedule?”

“No.” Hands clenched into fists. “Even though they’re baiting me, I’ll not break the plan.”

“Baiting you?”

“Look at the main building.” Her expression soured even further. “We were called Team WHYT at the Academy.”

Turning back to the base, Yang peered through the binoculars and felt her stomach churn. On the main building, where the Commander’s office sat, were those four letters in fresh black paint. Except, there were also a large red 'X’ over the H and Y. “Does that mean they killed them?”

“I doubt it. Last I heard, Yvette had a position off the coast and Herron works at Atlas Headquarters.” Winter turned, summoning more glyphs leading around to the east side of the base. “I spoke with both of them shortly before abandoning my post; there’s little chance Terry managed to get to both of them  _and_ beat us here.” Blue eyes flashed with a cold sort of fury as the shadow of doubt fell upon her expression, though she pushed past it quickly. “It’s certainly a message, regardless. Whatever they have to say, it’s meant to stay between us.”

Before she could start down the ridge, the Omega called out. “Don’t do anything stupid.” She didn’t wait for a scathing reply, instead barreling right on through. “They’ve already made it clear that there’s no holds barred. The last thing you need to do right now is play into their hand.”

For a moment, it looked like she was just wasting her breath, but the tense line of the woman’s shoulders relaxed. “You’re right.” She shook her head. “Terry’s always known how to get under my skin better than anyone- your Uncle included. I should expect this from them.”

“Expecting it and dealing with it are two different things,” she said, wincing at the truth to those words. “Go check the hangar. If you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m coming after you.”

“I’ll not keep you waiting.” With a nod, Winter turned and ran, aided by her glyphs.

At a distance, she blended into the white surroundings, and Yang eventually lost sight of her. She turned her gaze back to the base, peering through the binoculars to watch for any movement. Every tower had at least one soldier standing guard and the gate they’d used to enter had a few milling around it; when push came to shove, it would likely be easier for Winter to drop them into the middle of the base rather than attempt an assault from any side. Then again, if they needed to draw attention, then barreling through the main gate  _would_ be the optimal way to go; the most havoc and the shortest distance to Winter’s goal.

The Omega shifted, the urge to follow after the woman chaffing at her senses. Splitting up wasn’t ideal and she worried the Alpha’s pride might cloud her judgment, that maybe the Commander had left another message elsewhere and she would charge ahead rather than returning. It was the same manner of worry she had for her teammates, except she had the comfort of knowing they would be more than able to take care of each other.

Fidgeting, she turned to look back the way Winter had gone, trying to calm herself. On the third check, she could see movement, and she tensed in preparation for it being a foe rather than friend. Thankfully, they hadn’t been discovered  _quite_ yet.

“The hangar’s full, save for the one you took,” she said, dropping down into a crouch as she approached and eventually low crawling, keeping her profile below the top of the ridge. “Looks like there’s nothing waiting for them at the training sites.”

“Small miracles,” Yang replied, putting away her binoculars and shuffling back. “So, now, we just wait.”

Winter pulled out an old fashioned pocket watch, popping open the cover and nodding. “We’ve plenty of time. She should dig out a shelter to wait.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Nodding, they turned their attention to the snow beneath them. “But, uh, how do we do that?”

“You’ve never built a snow shelter before?”

“I grew up on an island; it never snows like this in Patch.”

The Alpha watched her for a moment before nodding, motioning for them to move further down the slope. Then, she began digging into the slope, making a bell shaped opening. “When you build a snow shelter, you should look for a very large snowdrift, where the snow has built up. You can tell by the trees around the ridge that it’s deep here.” Yang watched as Winter dug, helping to move the snow out of the way as she went in, and then up, hallowing out a nice little bubble for them. “This part’s important. You want to make sure you go up; it creates a heat trap.”

“Generating heat usually isn’t a problem for me.” She smirked, a flutter in her heart appearing in her chest when Winter chuckled.

“Well, consider this a less effort intensive method for accomplishing the same.” The woman crawled up into the shelter and beckoned her closer. “This is about as good as it’ll get.”

Yang crawled inside, sucking in a breath as she sat beside the Alpha. They hadn’t been in such close proximity since her disastrous… whatever that was and she could feel herself fidgeting slightly, ill at ease with the lack of a scent coming from the woman. She wanted to mention it- the Omega in her just  _had_ to know- but she bit the words back. It wasn’t her place to question, for one, and she wasn’t sure she truly wanted to know the answer, for another, but a voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Blake kept chiding her to at least not sit there in absolute silence for hours.

“Did the Academy teach you how to do this?” She almost winced; now  _might_ not be the best time to bring up that specific period.

“Actually, Mother insisted we know,” the Alpha said, voice turning wistful. “During her service, she got caught in more than a few blizzards while tracking Grimm across the northern reaches. When I was old enough to walk, she drilled me in cold weather survival, and I in turn taught Weiss.”

“That sounds harsh.”

“… she meant well.” Winter sighed. “She was strict and demanding a teacher… but she never wanted me to be injured. She never pushed me beyond my limits; it was my duty and responsibility to expand and grow.” She took a breath as if to continue but stopped short, grasping for the words before puffing out a bitter chuckle. “I… suppose that doesn’t sound so good, in retrospect. She was a good Alpha and sire; she gave me the tools I needed to survive. Not just the world, but against Father as well; I just wish she’d been able to teach Weiss. Mother had more patience than I did.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” As screwed up as her own family situation was, at least she had the chance to confront Raven and could talk to her Dad whenever she wanted, even if he wouldn’t talk to her about everything. She had some amount of closure.

“She’s still alive,” the Alpha said, a slight shiver in her shoulders. “At least, she draws breath. I’m not sure if one can call her existence 'living’ by any stretch of the definition.”

“Well, guess that explains why Weiss never mentioned her.” Yang shifted slightly, moving closer; she always ran warmer than others, and her body heat plus the coat made her rather comfortable, the stinging in her cheeks aside. “But… I know what that’s like. Breathing, but not really living.” Her gaze drifted to her right arm, bundled up tighter than her left. Her aura powering the machinations kept the metal from becoming cold and brittle, but it still posed a danger. “After I lost my arm… that would probably be a good way to describe me.”

After her heat, too, but she didn’t mention that.

“But you pulled yourself out of it.” A shoulder bumped her own. “Look at you now. You’re back on the front lines, fighting a war half of Remnant is completely ignorant of, while the other half seems dead set against assisting us.” She hummed. “It could make for a good book. A brave heroine suffers a terrible tragedy and rises up to conquer not only those who wronged her but everyone they’re affiliated with to boot. An unsung hero. People would love it.”

“I’ll tell Blake; she’s always been the bookworm.” Her lips pressed into a tight line. “But I’m still not sure if this is living. It’s just… fighting.”

“I’ve long believed life is just fighting.” Winter sighed, and she chanced a glance at the woman. Surrounded by the white snow packed around them, her blue eyes stood out so vividly, like pin pricks of light even in the darkness. “Fighting against hunger, fighting against dehydration, fighting against the cold, fighting against expectations- life is a series of conflicts, some of which we’re expected to win if we want to continue surviving.”

She looked away, down at the entrance to their little shelter, teeth sinking into her lip. “What about the softer things?”

“Beg pardon?”

“Ya know, the things that aren’t conflict, that aren’t fighting.” Pulling her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them, conserving heat as much as possible. “Laughter after telling a joke, baking cookies, watching a movie, holding someone’s hand- none of that is conflict. There’s no fighting. There’s just… enjoying. Being with other people. I think  _that’s_ living.”

Silence stretched between them for at least a minute before the Alpha shifted. “I… admittedly don’t have much experience in… some of that. I grew up… isolated.”

“Like Weiss?”

“Yes. But… they do sound nice, the softer things.” Her voice turned wistful then, with just a hint of a smile on her lips, as if bitterly amused by her own words. “In my experience, though, even the softer things aren’t without conflict. Those are just the battles I can’t seem to win, yet.”

“You’ll figure it out. Weiss did,” she said, clearing her throat and hoping she didn’t sound pathetic, like she was wishing that she was one of the softer things, that maybe everyone else had a better sense of it than she did and they could just… start over, or try again, or… something. “Maybe when the smoke clears and the fighting’s done, there’ll be time for the softer things. For living. We just gotta tough it out 'til we get there.”

“Well, you’re the strongest and toughest person I know. If I can keep pace with you, I suppose I can find out what living means one day.”

The Omega had to smile at that, though the expression disappeared when she looked over and saw another shiver. “You’re cold.”

“One would think with how early I started, I would’ve built up more resistance.” Winter shook her head, shifting to sit like Yang, with her knees drawn up to her chest. “Truthfully, I’ve always disliked the cold.”

Pulling back her left glove, she checked the time. They still had a good fifteen minutes before they had to move and the temperature wouldn’t be rising any time soon. “Come here.” The woman raised a brow even as Yang uncurled and motioned to her lap. “I’m basically a personal space heater and you’re no good half frozen.” This had 'bad idea’ written all over it; she could tell that much. And the look in Winter’s eyes said she knew it, too. Yet, some part of the Omega couldn’t just sit there while the other woman suffered, so she reached over and, with only a few stilted protests, picked the Alpha up and settled her between Yang’s legs, back to front. Winter had height on her, putting her eye level with the woman’s shoulder in this position, but it made it easier to wrap her arms and legs around the Alpha and share her body heat, even through their clothes. “I’m the 'strongest person you know’, remember?”

After a moment to process what had just happened, the woman barked out a short chuckle. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She set her arms over Yang’s, shuffling a little to get more comfortable. “Thank you. I feel better already.”

_That makes one of us._

Yang frowned as she pressed her cheek against the Alpha’s shoulder, trying hard not to think about a myriad of things. Like how she missed Winter wearing her hair down and would rather feel alabaster locks against her cheeks than the rough fabric of the military coat, how this happened to be one of the softer things in life that made it worth living, were the circumstances different- a whole host of things that had no place in their situation.

But, she cared. Ruby had the right of it. She cared if Winter was cold, and she’d do what she could to stop her shivering.

 _This_ was why she always got hurt. Not because she rushed in without thinking but because she held on when she should let go.

“When I was young and I shivered, Mother told me why it happened, what it meant, and how to overcome it. When I shiver now, you offer me warmth,” the Alpha said, her voice quiet. “I think you’ll be a great mother one day, Yang. Your children will know about the softer things.”

Children. A frown tugged at her lips, pain constricting her chest, but she did her best not to sound too bitter when she spoke. “You’re assuming I’ll find a mate.”

“You will.” She turned her head just enough to look at Yang over her shoulder. “Of that much, I’m certain.”

_Then why can’t it be you?_

She clamped down on the words and closed her eyes, a sigh slipping past her lips. “We’ll see.”

As silence descended again, the Omega found the pain in her chest ebbing slowly, replaced by something akin to contentment. Even if she couldn’t be with Winter the way she wanted to be, she could still help her through the fighting, through the conflict, and their immediate future promised to hold a lot more of both. And here, huddled up together in a shelter and waiting to charge into yet another battle, she could find… a sense of safety. A warmth borne not of her semblance or anger, but from the security of knowing that she  _could_ do some things, and that they mattered.

That would have to be enough, for now.

It stung, though, because somehow she’d tricked herself into catching the scent of both of them, together, in her nose again. Just like the blanket she refused to give up, tempting her towards daydreams, weaving comfort through her chest even amid the agony of knowing it was all in her head.

When would her torment end?

* * *

Yang didn’t remember nodding off but she must’ve, shaken awake gently and snapping back, a curse slipping past her lips as she noted the crick in her back from the odd angle. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Winter carefully disentangled herself, moving to sit beside her as she stretched. It made her feel… a little cold, honestly, but she tried to push it from her mind. “It’s a Soldier’s greatest skill to fall asleep anywhere and anytime. One can never know when next they’ll find rest.”

“Comforting,” she replied with a chuckle, rubbing at her neck and trying to shake away anything that didn’t directly pertain to their current situation. Not like it would do her any good. “Just what I wanted to hear while we’re separated from everyone else and effectively stuck in the wilderness on our own.”

“At least you have me.” The Alpha slipped down, landing at the entrance to their little shelter. “Out of everyone, I’m best suited to surviving this sort of terrain.”

 _I wish I_  did  _have you._

“… right.” Shaking her head, she followed after, grateful for the excuse to stretch her legs. Then she checked the time, lips twisting into a sour frown. “Shit, we should’ve started twenty minutes ago.”

“You were sleeping,” Winter said while stretching her arms over her head, absolutely nonchalant. “And it’s better for us to start later; getting the information from Terry will be easy. Linking up with the others? Significantly more difficult.”

Well, hard to argue with that logic. A groan left her lips as she stretched her lower back. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Do you trust me?”

Lilac eyes slid to meet blue. A thousand thoughts pinged through her head, the foremost being… offense, if she had to put a word to it. Of course she trusted Winter, enough to let the woman mount her, enough to want her in the first place, and even further than that. She’d walked into the Atlesian base with nothing but the Alpha’s word that she’d be okay. But Winter took nothing for granted. She asked anyway.

“Of course I do.” She nodded, knowing the words to be true despite the ache in her heart.

“Good.” The woman turned away. “Then we’ll head south, just far enough to make it difficult for the white of my glyphs to be separated from the scenery. We’ll ascend- two kilometers should suffice- and then head for the center of the base. It’s a blind spot for the towers and hardly anyone thinks to look up. A direct descent to the headquarters will-”

“Wait, stop.” Yang blinked, waiting until she turned back around before continuing. On any given day, she’d take the direct approach. Throw herself at the problem, keep punching until it rolled over and begged for mercy- she lived and breathed it. But that was alone, or with her friends and family far enough away that they wouldn’t be jeopardized by an errant round or a missed blow. She could take the punishment of a full frontal assault not working out like few others could. But even she had to draw a line. “That’s  _insane_ ; that’s asking for a hard fight.”

“Terry already knows we’re coming-”

“Exactly, they do, and they’re baiting you into a situation that’ll give them the advantage.” She pointed back towards the base. “If we drop into the base and their 'sportsmanship’ goes out the window, we’re trapped in the middle of a bunch of Atlesian soldiers with few escape options. We  _might_ be able to fight our way out,  _if_  they care about friendly fire, and even then, we’ll still be surrounded.”

“They  _wouldn’t_  betray us.”

“I’m not saying they would,  _if_ they have the choice.” Her brows furrowed, trying to find a tactful way of phrasing her explanation. When that failed, she went for the blunt option. “But if they  _are_ doing this against their will, Salem might have leverage on them. Are you really going to put them in the position of choosing?” She paused, noting how Winter looked away, as if the thought hadn’t occurred to her. “They took a gamble, hoping I would get the message to you. Their office is somehow bugged and we have no way of knowing how much of the base is, too. We walk in there, we’re on Salem’s terms.”

For a moment, she thought the Alpha might continue to argue, but instead she muttered a curse. “You’re right. You are, I just- this is…”

“I know.” Yang let out a sigh. “So, let’s try something different.” Turning her head, she scanned the trees around them. “In fact… let’s pull a play from Salem’s book.”

“What are you thinking?”

“An ambush.” Her lips lifted in a smirk. “All we need to do is send the invitation.”

* * *

Yang puffed out a breath, lifting herself up to an even higher branch. Glancing back down to the ground, she confirmed she was high enough before working herself around to the back side of the tree, straddling a branch large enough to support her weight and settling in for the long haul. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable seat in the world but it would do. “How’s that?”

“Perfect.” Winter called from the clearing. Peeking out from behind the tree, she watched as the Alpha went to a tree on the opposite side and did… something. Probably some marking or other from her Academy days, something only Terry would be able to discern. “We’ve done all we can. Now, we just wait and hope our quarry stumbles into the trap.”

As far as plans went, this one at least gave them a slight advantage. The woman spawned three more glyphs, calling forth her white beowolves and sending them out, through the forest and to the main gate. They weren’t meant to do more than cause alarm, enough for the Commander to be notified. Winter banked on Terry realizing the beowolves were hers and coming to investigate personally, allowing them to meet in the open, where Yang could provide back-up if necessary. However, if the entire base mobilized in response… well, that would be enough of an answer, too.

Even from across the clearing, Yang could see the tension in the woman’s shoulders as she sent her summons running through the trees before climbing a nearby tree herself, intending to stay hidden until they could confirm the Commander was alone.

In the back of her mind, the Omega could sympathize- feeling betrayed by a partner, someone you trusted with your life, that hurt like no other- but she also recognized that their situations only shared passing similarities. Blake might still blame herself for the whole debacle but she’d never intended for Yang to get hurt.

All too soon, they’d know where Terry’s intentions lay, and facing that reality might be more painful than cathartic.

But Winter had to know. She understood that.

The wind whipped through the trees, biting at her cheeks, and she suddenly missed the little shelter. Rather, she missed having her arms around Winter, but she pushed that as far from her mind as she could. One of these days, she’ll get the smell of both of them, together, out of her nose and her torment will be over.

A piercing howl split the air and she tensed, moving back into her hiding spot. Best case scenario, Terry would simply follow the tracks of the summons and make it to the clearing in about half an hour. Worst case scenario, the sound of Paladins and Knights tearing through the dead forest would alert them to retreat.

The waiting, as usual, was always the hardest part. It gave her mind time to wander, to slip along topics she’d rather leave at bay.

The Alpha had a perfectly logical and pragmatic reason to let her sleep. It had nothing to do with sentimentality.

But in the space between fights… it felt nice to indulge in the softer things. The little thoughts. Falling asleep against her mate’s back, warm and safe and content… she’d thought about it before a time or two, back when she dared to think about the future. Gallivanting all over Remnant, coming home to find her mate and children, going out to a nice little hill on a sunny day to take a nap on a blanket… it gave her hope.

Or, well, it had. Now, it just felt… hollow, in the same way she did.

But maybe Ruby would find a mate, she thought. Blake and Weiss would definitely begin enjoying their marks, the moment this war ended. She could be an aunt.

 _I could be the_  best  _aunt._

Her lips curled slightly, remembering her sister telling her all about Weiss’ personal vow. Maybe that’s all there was to it. If you can’t be the thing you want, be the best thing you can.

Bursts of machine gun fire immediately preceded one of Winter’s summons breaking into the clearing, the others likely destroyed already. Its task done, it dissipated with a sound like cracking ice, a few seconds before the Alpha that had confronted her during the mission appeared. That was Yang’s cue to remain hidden and listen intently for the sign.

“Where the hell did it go?”

“You lost it?”

“Shove it, Aegean; it couldn’t have gotten far.” A few moments of silence as snow crunched- more than just the two of them had entered the clearing. “But no tracks. What sort of Grimm doesn’t leave tracks?”

“What sort of Grimm indeed.” Yang’s shoulders tensed at the cool indifference in the Commander’s voice. “You’re the resident Grimm expert, Semper. What’s the theory?”

A thoughtful hum. “It could’ve jumped into the trees, but I don’t see claw marks. Might’ve gone into a snowbank to hide, but nothing looks disturbed.”

“It’s an alpha beowolf with unique coloration, Semper; it’s likely centuries old and smarter than to leave a trail,” the Commander said, sweeping out a hand. “It likely jumped out of the clearing so it could lose us. Keep on this heading; it might be running back to its pack. Forecastle, take the east and Cirrus, the west. If you see any sign of our troublemaker, use a flare or take it out. Rendezvous back here in an hour. Now move.” The Omega held her breath, pressing against the tree bark as Aegean ran beneath her, trudging through the snow as best he could while the others presumably took their own directions. The crunching of snow faded, silence settling over the forest once more. “I’ll admit, I’m impressed. I thought for sure you’d breach the perimeter yourself.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Winter replied, dropping down from her own hiding spot to confront her former partner. “But you know I’ve always hated being predictable.”

Carefully, Yang peeked around the tree even as their voices lowered. The two stood about five feet from each other, far enough for Winter to react if her former partner choose to attack but close enough their conversation could remain private. Although she’d wanted to object, the Omega could understand the need for this part to be private and watched the woman’s posture for any sign of alarm, tempering her concern with the reassurance that she’d be right by her side if anything happened.

It frustrated her, not being privy to the conversation, but she sympathized; the first time talking to Blake-  _really_ talking- had hurt, and she wouldn’t want anyone listening to how many times she tripped over her tongue, trying to articulate so many things at once. They’d both been a mess, though, and that comforted her a little.

From the looks of it, Winter fared no better, maybe even worse as she began to pace, shoulders tight and lips pulled back in a snarl. Something the Commander said prompted a curse, their posture relaxed and at ease.

Yang narrowed her eyes. That had to be a front of some sort. They couldn’t  _possibly_ be that calm in the face of the Alpha’s icy fury, especially when they used to be so close. They’d spoken of Winter with such genuine fondness before; it didn’t make sense to be so blase about the situation now.

But her attention kept drifting back to Winter, to the way the woman moved, and she had to forcibly remind herself that they were on a time limit. The others would be back within an hour, and as she went to check the time, she caught something. The barest hints of movement, true, but something- someone circling along the west side of the clearing, heading south.

Carefully, she leaned around to the other side of the tree, searching for the movement again. When she found it, ice flashed through her veins with dread a moment before the heat of her anger returned. Rudy had circled back, crouching in a tree just out of Winter’s line of sight, a bow held tight in one hand. He hadn’t notched an arrow but she wasn’t planning on giving him the opportunity.

And yet, before she had a chance to push off, intending to take him out and give Winter a chance to create distance, she glanced back and froze. The Commander had a hand on Winter’s shoulder and her entire demeanor changed to one of… loss. Sorrow. Regret.

Head bowed, arms limp at her sides, until she finally shook her head and stepped back, and then the anger flared, something Yang could see even from that distance, even without seeing the Alpha’s expression. A sympathetic fire burned in her chest, eyes flashing red for a moment, but she held herself in check. It would be a hard fight, but if that’s what Winter wanted, that’s exactly what they would do. She had no problem fighting a losing battle; it would be worth it, if it assuaged the anger that tensed those shoulders.

“So, this is it.” The Commander spoke loudly, taking a step back as well. Immediately, the Omega felt suspicious, gaze darting to the other hidden spectator to the conversation. “This is how our story ends.”

“No.” Winter seemed to shake off her anger and sorrow, drawing herself up to her full height. “Our story ends when Salem’s dead.”

“You can’t beat me.” They made a motion with their hand, and it seemed natural, but Yang had her focus divided between the Commander and Rudy, and she saw how he reached for the quiver strapped to his back. “It’s a fool’s errand to try and many more will suffer because of it. I’m giving you a courtesy and telling you outright. Don’t fight me.”

“This isn’t a matter of choosing my battles,” Winter said. “You’re standing between me and my goal.”

Yang shifted, gathered up all the energy she had in her thighs, prepared to make the jump as he drew back on his bow.

“ _Your_ goal, is it?” They sighed. “Well, I know you well enough to know that you believe that. I’ll be sure to drink a toast tonight to burned bridges.” A second motion of their hand. “After I’ve poured one out for you.”

The Omega pushed off, striking forward with her left arm to intercept the arrow that had just begun to leave the bow, her right propelling her towards her target. Perhaps a premature end to the conversation by Winter’s reckoning, but like hell she’d sit back and watch as the Alpha took on both contenders. She had no idea what their capabilities were but, if they were skilled enough for wetwork, she’d have her hands full in an even, two-on-two fight.

Sure enough, there had to be dust or explosives in the arrowhead, the resulting explosion when her round met it far too big for there not to be. Yang noted it, mentally acknowledged that she couldn’t just tank the arrows like she would other projectiles, and then focused on controlling her momentum as she threw her right forward while crashing into the tree that Rudy had formerly been occupying. However, the other Omega hadn’t been frozen in surprise by her appearance, adjusting quickly and dropping down to the snow below.

Behind her, she heard the growls of Winter’s beowolves appearing once more coupled with the crackling of electricity.

Immediately, her semblance flared to life, eyes burning red as steam rose off her form, fire coming to life. This wasn’t the anger inspired presence of her semblance but rather its purest, most distilled form, responding to her deep seated need to protect, to burn bright enough that nothing behind her would come to harm while all that lay before her would be laid to waste. And when her blood red eyes fell on Rudy, she could tell he understood that this wouldn’t be an easy fight- not by a long shot. A twist of his hands made the bow separate, becoming two halves that transformed before her eyes into ice picks, sharp and menacing point sharpened to a razor’s edge.

Good. She didn’t have the patience for bobbing and weaving around long range attacks at present.

Yang surged forth, hoping she had the speed to overcome his strength, because while she could hit pretty hard, he looked too solid to be easily pushed back. The first jab she threw with her right, sparks flying as the metal of her prosthetic scraped the business edge of the ice pick, and the force that met her confirmed that she wouldn’t be winning an arm wrestling contest against this guy any time soon, but she wasn’t thrown back when he pushed, sliding only a few inches due to the snow beneath her boots being not at all conducive to granting traction. And when he swung at her with his other pick, she deflected it with Ember Celica rather easily, then ducked the dual swipe that came back at her.

She could win this fight. She just had to do it quickly, so she could-

A hand slipped around her left upper arm, squeezing just enough to draw her attention to sharp blue eyes. “We’re leaving.”

It didn’t occur to her to argue or question, understanding the urgency she heard in the woman’s voice and immediately abandoning her battle with a final parting shot of red dust, a small wall of flames separating her from Rudy. It wouldn’t last long but it  _would_ give them the time they needed to reach the first of Winter’s glyphs, which sped them along in a straight shot away from the clearing.

A grunt left her lips as rounds peppered her back- some from a shotgun, weaker due to the distance, and the others a burst from some machine gun- but she grit her teeth and bore the annoyance while her aura protected her.

“Go high!” Winter called as she summoned another glyph, the two landing on it and then springing up to another, though this one appeared perpendicular to the other. It disoriented her for a moment, just a moment, but then she recovered and started running, straight up a runway of glyphs like Ruby had done during their initiation. As they neared the canopy, the Alpha spoke again, urgently. “Trust me?”

“Always,” she replied, too in-the-moment to consider answering differently.

Three glyphs after they broke through the tops of the trees, the Alpha called out once more. “Backflip!”

On the next step, they both pushed off, though gravity had something to say about the whole 'backflip’ thing and seemed intent on bringing them back down to the forest floor before letting their feet touch the glyphs again. Luckily, that didn’t seem to be in Winter’s plan as two white nevermores with blazing blue eyes shot beneath them. It took Yang a moment, nearly rolling backwards off the bird, but she managed to grab onto the summon, hands gripping white feathers for dear life as she hooked her legs around its neck.

Great wings flapped, lifting them up and into the air, and it took the Omega another moment to understand the shifting form beneath her, what each little movement meant, and managed to lean the correct way when the birds sharply banked to head back to the ravine.

“We could’ve  _flown_ this whole time?” She shouted over the wind whipping at her face, heart pounding in her chest as she looked down at the forest beneath them. This was a rush, a different sort than what she felt when fighting; it felt like getting on Bumblebee again for the first time in almost a year, like initiation, like the days when she had no fear. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like to feel so free, walking the razor’s edge between awesome and bad idea. “What is  _with_ you and keeping important information to yourself until the last minute?”

The moment the words left her mouth, she groaned and just barely resisted the urge to slap a hand to her face. So much for leaving it in the past.

“I rather enjoy surprises.” Winter called back, a small smile on her lips. “I suppose you’re not as big a fan.”

“Most of the surprises I get don’t tend to be good ones!” She raised her right arm to indicate it, hoping it would be left at that and not pushed any further. Because if the woman asked her whether or not she considered the condom to be a good or bad surprise… she honestly couldn’t tell which she’d say. “But seriously, why’d we run earlier?”

“I can’t maintain these summons near as long as the others.” Now that she’d drawn attention to it, Yang could see the slight furrow to her brow. “Normally, my summons need only be solid when they strike or take a blow. They’re a bit more fragile outside of that. These ones-”

“Have to be solid the whole time, or we’ll be kissing the ground.” Yang nodded, easing up her grip on the feathers and patting them smooth. “Got it. You focus; I’ll keep an eye out for company.”

Lilac eyes scanned around them, alert to any possible dangers. The shots had stopped, line of sight broken well enough by their quick exeunt through the canopy and the white light of the summons difficult to pick out among the pale snowy backdrop. And the moment they passed over the jagged outcropping of the ravine, the white nevermores dove down, taking the winding curves over a straight shot above, where it would be much easier to be seen at a distance. Of course, it meant they couldn’t fly as far or as fast as would be best.

Every few wing beats, she’d steal a glance over at the Alpha, noting the tension hadn’t abated from her posture yet, how she seemed lost in her own thoughts even while directing the nevermores.

A thousand questions rested on the tip of her tongue. A thousand more platitudes, because even if she had no right to the answers, she still wanted to ease the tension and hurt. It couldn’t be easy, effectively starting a war with a friend, with the promise that the next time might be the last.

More than anything, she didn’t want Winter feeling like she was alone. Yang had gone through that pain herself; no one else should.

“Hey!” She called out above the wind. “Does this make us birds of a feather?” That caught the Alpha’s attention, a ghost of a smile flickering across her lips. “I mean, with allies like these, you must’ve had half the military flocking to you for help.” Winter shook her head and pretended to shrug off the jokes. “And if they didn’t, I’d have to call 'em bird brains!”

That, somehow, managed to be the last straw before the woman started laughing, raising a hand to cover her mouth. “This is how you plan to help me focus?”

“Well, I’ll admit I’m kinda winging it at the moment!” It shouldn’t have made her chest feel so much lighter, seeing Winter laugh like that, enough to where a few white flakes broke off the summons. Yang exaggerated her reaction, quickly firing off an apology for egging the Alpha on and getting even more laughter in response. It really shouldn’t soothe her so much, especially while they were still flying through the ravine, unsure whether or not they’d be able to find the airship before the summons broke down or the Commander sent someone after them.

Yet… it did. Especially when she saw the grateful little twinkle shining in blue eyes.


	9. Higher Stakes

They settled into silence after that, the easy sort, though Yang kept an eye on the line of Winter’s shoulders. She probably couldn’t go on another roll like that without compromising the woman’s attention and they probably wouldn’t get very far on foot- at least, not without using a smoke signal to get the airship to land and giving away their position.

But after a while, their luck turned up.

“Do you hear that?” Winter called out as a low droning began to reverberate through the ravine. “It’s the airship.”

The Omega frowned, checking her watch. On the one hand, for them to be this close, they were ahead of schedule. On the other hand, she couldn’t think of any good reason for that, barring that it wasn’t nearly as difficult to collect the relic as they were expecting.

She’d stopped expecting the best case scenario as being plausible by this point.

And then, something  _else_ occurred to her. “Wait, aren’t they heading  _at_  us?”

“Yes. We need to get a little creative to link up.” She looked back over her shoulder, meeting Yang’s eyes. “Follow me!”

With that, they began climbing, up and over the lip of the ravine. From there, they could see the airship making its way slowly, fresh marks scouring the left side, but lacking anything worrying, like smoke trailing from the engines. For the moment, Yang took it as a good sign, leaning in as her Nevermore banked and brought them in line with the airship’s trajectory. Whoever was piloting must’ve seen them, the nose tilting up as the ship began to angle out of the ravine, which would make maintaining a constant course much easier.

“We’re aiming for the observation deck?”

“Exactly!” They both cringed as the Alpha looked behind them. “Brace yourself! It’s going to be a rough landing!”

“Sounds dangerous!” Yang chuckled. “You know, I’d like to make one last pun just in case this goes wrong, but I don’t think it’s gonna fly!”

“And  _my_ puns are bad?” Winter shook her head, then looked back at the airship. “On three!” They both became serious again as the distance between them and the airship decreased. “One!” Yang’s muscled tensed as she mentally ran through all the ways this could go wrong. It wasn’t like a normal combat landing; they could not overshoot their target. They couldn’t just control their momentum and come to a stop when it was easiest. “Two!” If either of them missed, it would be a long way down, and while they could probably survive the fall, surviving the delay would be much harder, depending entirely on how earnestly the Commander would be pursuing them. “Three!”

She became weightless for only a moment as the Nevermore dispersed before the wind struck her like a mac truck, throwing her back. It took some pinwheeling, some fighting to get herself under control and turned around so she could see the observation deck, which they were approaching  _very_ quickly.

Yang sucked in a quick breath and, in that split second, felt a tendril of doubt.

But she quashed it, flicking her wrists and bringing out her gauntlets and looking around for Winter.

The Alpha was a step ahead of her, though, already summoning a runway of glyphs that would hopefully lead them to the observation deck. It took a moment for her feet to find them, pumping through the air until she found the solid purchase, the shock of it robbing her of breath for only a moment before she fell in sync with Winter again.

However, they’d used up their allotted quota of luck in the past day, or so it seemed.

“They throttled down!” Yang started to slow her run but picked up the pace immediately, noting the way her boots had slipped and sunk, as if the glyph wasn’t as solid as it should be. “Winter?”

“We’ll wait at the end and drop down.”

She did the math in her head, how much energy the woman had expended since they started the mission to infiltrate the base the first time. The summons that had transported resources, the dead sprint to the base, the surveillance, the retreat- she hadn’t had much time to recharge or even rest through all that.

“I got a better idea,” she said, throwing her left arm around the Alpha’s waist and lifting her clear off her feet- something that would probably be more difficult if she wasn’t already pushing herself to the limit, cementing in Yang’s mind that she made the right decision even as she charged her right arm with an enhanced concussive blast, shooting it behind them at the last second.

They sailed through the air until- finally, blessedly- they hit the observation deck. She tried her best to take the brunt of the impact on her feet, but the sudden shift in momentum carried them through until they were rolling across the metal, bouncing along and by the barest of margins losing both speed and height along the way, causing a ruckus the whole damn while. When they finally fetched up against the bulkhead, the only thought going through Yang’s head was that she’d hit first and Winter slid into her, which had to be a bit softer than the unforgiving metal against her back.

“Who taught you the definition of ‘better’?” Winter groused, putting a hand to her head.

“Oh… you know.” She shrugged. “A little birdie told me.”

The airship’s engines began to roar louder as it climbed, whoever was sitting at the helm confident they’d made it aboard, and she took the fact that it didn’t immediately turn around to head north as a good sign.

And then the Alpha settled against her burst out laughing- not a little chuckle, but a full bellied laugh, until tears began leaking from her eyes.

A little smile tugged at her lips as she listened, as she felt the body shaking against hers, because the dam had burst. She thought that constituted the hardest part, in a lot of ways; not trying to hold things back anymore, not trying to keep them contained, but letting everything out so the pieces could be put back together. She’d tried staying strong after waking up in Patch and it turned her bitter, kept her confined physically and emotionally, and the dam hadn’t burst all at once. It started with a trickle, and then more, until she could finally be ready to move again, and even when she left home it hadn’t completely broken.

At least she didn’t have to worry about that part.

“I- I knew- I knew-” Winter tried to catch her breath as her laughter faded away. “When I joined this mission, I knew things would be difficult. I knew there would be trials ahead.” Then she shifted, looking at Yang. “When Weiss said Atlas had a mole… I feared it would be someone I knew. Someone I’d served with, fought beside, nearly died beside- I was prepared to fight a soldier, even one of my own.” She shook her head. “But I never thought it could be Terry. I might have to kill my best friend.”

“No, you won’t,” she said, the words out of her mouth as she automatically reacted, reaching out and grabbing the Alpha’s hand. “We’ll find the relics, we’ll stop Salem. What happens after… we’ll deal with it when it comes. We’ll find a way. That’s what we do.”

Much to her surprise, the hand in hers squeezed, almost as if clinging to her.

“You don’t understand-” Blue eyes fell on her, and the Omega could see the pain and agony there, but whatever followed never left her lips as the door into the ship swung open.

“Welcome back, you two.” Qrow groaned as he stepped out, leaning against the bulkhead and wincing, an obvious limp in his right leg making him unsteady on his feet with the wind still whipping at them. “You might wanna go down to the infirmary. Things got pretty bad-”

In the blink of an eye, Yang watched the pain morph to fury, and she tried to hold on but felt Winter rip herself away to spring to her feet, setting them a moment before she threw her whole body behind a wicked hook that collided solidly with the left side of Qrow’s face and sent him stumbling back. He hardly had time to catch his balance before she threw another, this time with her left, and the Omega realized if she didn’t do something, it likely wouldn’t stop.

“You bastard! It was supposed to be you!” This was a level of anger she’d never seen from the Alpha, nothing like the little spats Winter got into with her uncle from time to time- a raw, blazing thing, that kind that would destroy everything it touched without remorse- a blizzard in the dead of winter. “It  _should’ve_ been you!”

Snapping herself out of her stupor, Yang pushed herself to her feet, charging forward and barreling into her back, wrapping her up in a bear hug. “Winter! Winter, stop! This isn’t helping!”

“Like hell it isn’t!” Gritting her teeth, the Omega planted her feet and lifted up, taking the woman clear off her feet and sending both of them crashing to the deck again, though this time she took the  _full_ impact herself, groaning slightly as she struggled to both breathe and keep hold of the raging storm in her arms. “Let me go! It was his idea and  _he_  was the coward! It should’ve been him!”

“You need to calm down!”

“ _No!_  I  _don’t!_ ”

“Weiss is hurt!” Suddenly, Winter’s struggling stopped, so she said it again. “Weiss is hurt and she’s in the infirmary.”

“She- Weiss?”

“She’s alive.” Qrow coughed, spitting out a bit of blood and sitting up. That probably told more of a story than anything else, that he couldn’t even spare the energy to protect himself from a simple punch. “But she’s banged up pretty bad. The Grimm were stronger than we expected.”

“Go check on your sister,” she said, trying to keep calm even as she thought of Ruby, Blake, and Weiss being injured. Checking on them would come after she felt confident Winter wouldn’t kill the man.

The Alpha’s chest heaved, a growl slipping past her lips before she wretched herself away and stalked towards the door.

With a groan, Yang pushed herself up and winced at the lancing pain shooting through her back. She rubbed at the nape of her neck and sighed, looking over at her uncle. Weighing her options, she went with the blunt approach, purely because she thought anything less would just waste more time they didn’t have. “Do I get an explanation or are you going to be all mysterious and cryptic with me?”

Qrow ran a hand through his hair and sighed, looking away. It always worried her when he refused to make eye contact; it meant he felt guilty and, most of the time, it was justified. “She’s right, you know.”

Some part of her wanted to reach over and punch him herself; with the majority of her team- her  _friends_ \- injured, she didn’t have time for guessing games. “Just start from the beginning.”

“It  _was_ my idea.” He winced, rubbing at his side and wiping the blood from his jaw, though all he really did was smear if through his five o'clock shadow. “After Ozpin gave Raven and I the power to transform, I thought… wouldn’t it be easier to spy on Salem from the  _inside_? Send someone in, gain her trust, and then… dismantle everything from the inside out. Make it look like… a string of bad luck.”

She bent her knees and rested her arms atop them, flaring her semblance to fight the chill as the airship continued gaining altitude. “You were supposed to go? Be the double agent, I mean.”

“Yeah.” He tried to meet her eyes but couldn’t hold it for long. “I bring bad luck wherever I go, Yang. It made sense to have that work against our enemies. But… I wanted to make it convincing, so I started talking to Raven like I hated Oz. Complained about everything he did, nitpicked- I thought she was agreeing with me as a sister. Not…”

“Not as someone who felt genuinely betrayed already.” Yang sighed, remembering how her mother had talked about Ozpin, the unadulterated condemnation. “That’s when she left, huh?”

“… yeah.” Slowly, he got to his feet, stifling the groan as best he could. “After that… well, Oz only had me, Goodwitch, and the other Headmasters. And Tai had you to look out for, and Summer was helping but then Ruby… I couldn’t just…  _abandon_ everyone.” His jaw clenched. “I didn’t know Ozpin told Ironwood about the plan. I didn’t know they decided to go through with it anyway, not until Winter started sticking up for her friend.”

“And you didn’t say anything?” She stood up, squaring her shoulders and a growl tinged the edges of her voice. “Let me guess: you were scared you might be wrong. If you were, then you’d just look like the coward who couldn’t follow through with his own idea for nothing.”

“I didn’t think it would come to this-”

“Ozpin knew it would come to this!” Yang clenched her fists, fighting not to throw the first punch. “Every part of this- the relics, the Maidens, the secrecy, Ozpin knew what was on the line from the very beginning! Just because  _you_ didn’t want to think about it doesn’t mean it’s not true, Qrow!” She snapped her jaw shut before continuing along that particular tangent, thinking back to Winter’s words in the clearing, when she was staring at her best friend and promising to kill them if it came to that. “Whatever your plan was, I don’t think that’s what’s going on anymore. You might’ve planted the seed for it, though, and now, we have to deal with the fruit.” Crossing her arms over her chest. “Start getting used to the idea that, thanks to  _you_ , Salem has a wetwork commander on her side. Our fight just got a  _helluva_  lot harder.” She turned, prepared to head down to the infirmary, but stopped herself short. “Uncle Qrow?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not mad that you stayed,” she said, turning back to look at him. “I just… want to make that clear. You looked out for Ruby and I when we were too small to protect ourselves. We wouldn’t have had that if you’d gone through with it so… I really can’t be mad.” A frown tugged at her lips. “But you still owe Winter an apology. I think, somewhere, she’ll get it- she’s military, she’s bound to get it- but she’s hurting and  _you_ are the cause of it. Tell her the whole story. Tell her the truth.”

Now he could look at her, shoulders slumping as he offered a small, fragile smile. “You ever gonna take your own advice?”

“We’ve said all we need to,” Yang replied, heading into the airship.

Funny; it didn’t sting as bad this time, the reminder.

Hours of just being around each other, as comrades, with too much at stake to really bother with personal feelings… it helped.

And knowing that their sisters were hurt probably shifted her priorities just enough that she couldn’t be bothered with the burden of her own emotional baggage just yet.

* * *

Yang stood at the doorway to the infirmary, watching and listening as Ruby excitedly explained the whole ordeal the others had gone through while Goodwitch continued to examine Blake’s arm, which bore a newly healed scar from wrist to elbow. Thankfully, it seemed caused due to a shortage of aura and not poison or surgical grade dust, like the scar that adorned her belly, so it would fade within a week. Still, the sheer ferocity of the battle had to be intense for Blake to be hurt like that, despite how much her sister seemed intent on framing everything as being exhilarating.

“-and you should’ve seen Weiss; her summons are so much stronger now! And, and she must’ve killed half a dozen new Grimm, so that’s  _even more_  she can practice with, isn’t that great?”

“It’s certainly quite the feat.” Winter offered a tight smile, sitting on Weiss’ bed and watching her sister closely. Although she didn’t bear any scars, the younger sister wasn’t sitting up straight like she usually did, her perfect posture completely forgotten as she slumped back against the bed with her eyes half lidded. “You must’ve pushed yourself to your limits to accomplish all that.”

“Desperate times,” Weiss replied, though her voice didn’t seem nearly as strong as usual. She’d probably sleep like a rock now that she could rest easy. “But it’s only going to get harder.”

“She’s right.” Blake nodded, her ears laying back as a snarl curled her lips. “The Grimm are somehow becoming… smarter.”

Yang’s brows furrowed as worry filled her chest.

“I think it’s because of Salem.” Ruby’s demeanor changed to thoughtful as she looked down at the bit of blood still caked on her thigh, likely from a wound that had already healed. “If she’s truly merged with a Grimm, it’s possible that she’s somehow feeding their intelligence- like she’s breaking up bits of herself and giving it to them to make them stronger.”

“I’m not sure that’s even possible.” Goodwitch cautioned, setting aside a bloody rag and moving to grab fresh gauze. Very rarely, wounds hastily closed by aura would reopen, especially if a foreign body or toxin lingered in the body. They’d gone pretty light on the medical supplies aside from aura boosters purely because the rest would really only be helpful to those without aura… now, Yang found herself a little regretful they hadn’t grabbed more. “There’s never been an indication that Grimm could become more intelligent than the average animal.”

“But if you think about it, aura operates the same way.” Silver eyes landed on the woman, challenging her in a way the Beta would’ve never done were they still teacher and student. “When Uncle Qrow talked about the Maiden powers, he mentioned how some part of the former Maiden’s soul went with the powers. Not much, but a little. And it’s kinda how Ozpin survives when he moves into a new body, sharing it right now with Oscar.” She reached out, running her fingers along Crescent Rose as it leaned against her bed. “But the Grimm are born of darkness and feed on it- on negative emotions; that means they all share something in common, no matter how different they look in comparison to each other. There has to be some sort of link and, now that Salem’s part of them, it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch to say she’s bleeding through to the rest of them. It might just be a drop of blood in a lake, but it’s something.”

As if this fight wasn’t hard enough.

“I’ll run your theory by Ozpin when he’s awake.” Their former professor handed the gauze to Winter and started towards the door. “Perhaps he can give us some insight.”

“How’s Oscar?” Yang didn’t  _intentionally_ block the door, by any means, but she also didn’t get out of the way now that she had a question she wanted answered.

“He’s doing better, though still a little shaken up. He’s mostly resting.” Goodwitch sighed gently, offering a reassuring smile that likely would’ve never been seen back in Beacon. “Ozpin thought it best to retreat for a time until he can fully recover. I’ll not be doing anything to draw him out before then.”

“Good. I’m glad he’s doing better.” She stepped into the room, allowing the woman to leave. “He in his room?”

“Yes. Drop by when you get the chance; I’ve restricted him to bed rest until he’s stronger and he’s likely to get lonely.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Thanks.” Heading over to her sister’s bedside, the Omega sat down with a smile and a shake of her head. “How is it you’re always able to find trouble, Sis?”

“Hey, we knew it was going to be dangerous!” She laughed, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. It wasn’t often Ruby let her tells be so obvious; they’d had a much closer call retrieving the relic than they were letting on but she wouldn’t bring it up just yet. “So things got a little worse than we expected. We got it and that’s what matters, right?”

Placating. Considering Winter must’ve stormed in madder than a hornet’s nest, she could see why her sister would be so insistent on keeping the details vague. In the back of her mind, she could feel nothing but pride. Her little sister had grown into quite the leader. “I never had a doubt.”

“How’d your mission go?” Silver eyes flicked over to the elder Schnee, a thread of nervousness in her voice. “I mean, we didn’t run into any trouble, so… quiet?”

“I made contact with Terry,” the Alpha said, her expression turning serious as all traces of mirth and pride fled. “They are working as a double agent under Salem, planning to sabotage her when the opportunity presents itself. However, I know Terry well, and they do not believe in leaving jobs half finished. They will remain with Salem until they know, for a fact, they can destroy her in one blow, and her entire network with her.”

Weiss breathed in deeply, struggling for a moment to try sitting up straighter but ultimately opting against it. “It sounds like they don’t plan to make it out alive.”

“They don’t.” Winter shook her head. “They’ve always believed sacrificing one life to save a hundred was a fair trade. Now, it’s five to save all of Remnant… but the count may be much higher.” She looked at Ruby, obviously dreading the words even as they left her lips. “If our path crosses Terry’s… we must fight with everything we have. We must do our level best to kill them and give no quarter.”

A shock went through everyone else in the room, though the other Alpha seemed to be the first to recover, a grim frown coming to her lips. Maybe she’d heard enough about her sister’s former partner to simply accept it.

Blake, on the other hand, seemed far more reluctant. “But, but that’s-”

“Make no mistake; they will be attempting to do the same, and they will  _not_ hold back.” The grim tone her voice took, the haunted look on her face- Yang wanted to reach out and hold her, try to offer some manner of comfort, but refrained by the barest margins by curling her hands into fists on her thighs. “Killing any one of us would be the surest way to gain Salem’s complete and utter confidence.  _All_ of us would be the perfect outcome, and Terry is the sort to be absolutely convinced they could pull it off, too. Not just killing us but taking down Salem and making it all worthwhile in the end.” A mirthless chuckle left her lips. “They call it 'ruthless calculus’ and- as much as I hate to admit it- it’s proven effective in the past. Terry is committed to this course and they will not be swayed.”

Silence settled over the room for a moment before Ruby tentatively spoke up. “Are you sure you want to keep helping us?”

Weiss’ brows pinched together, fighting a quick battle behind ice blue eyes before making her decision. “We wouldn’t hold it against you if-”

“Stop.” Her gaze darted around the room, resting for the longest on Weiss before she looked at Yang. “Terry has chosen their path. I’ve chosen mine. We have the same goal, so the best way to ensure it’s accomplished is for both of us to see our missions through to the end.” She sighed, shaking her head gently. “Ultimately, if one fails, the other will succeed. I’m sure of that.”

“You can train me.” Yang heard the words, distantly, and then belatedly realized they’d been  _hers_ as all eyes in the room turned to her. “To fight Terry. I mean, if it’s like you said, then one or more of us will need to fight them when the time comes. If you do it, they already know how you’re going to fight. I can be a wild card.” She gestured with her prosthetic. “I mean, there’s no footage of how I fight now and I’m still developing my new style.” Her shoulders fell a little. “Plus… I know my limits. I’ll make it look pretty convincing so that Terry can, ya know… live to fight another day.”

“Yang, what you’re suggesting…” The Alpha shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous-”

“We don’t really have a choice anymore, Winter.” Crossing her arms over her chest and met blue eyes without faltering. “We have a chance to both fight against Terry  _and_ with them. Our best bet is to make each and every fight look convincing as hell without going over the line. I can do that.”

“I know you can, but the price of a mistake-”

“I’ve made plenty of mistakes; I can recover-”

“Low blow and that’s not the point-”

“Both of you, stop,” Ruby said, clapping her hands together to ensure she brought the slowly escalating argument to a halt. “We just recovered a relic by the skin of our teeth, lost a friend, and made a really dangerous enemy, all in one day. Right now, we need to regroup, recover, and  _then_ decide on a plan of attack.” She looked at Winter. “As much as you might not like the idea, Yang has a point. Someone will need to fight Terry and it can’t be you; the rest of their team, fine, but if you go up against your best friend, one of you might give Terry away, and that seems like one of the worst case scenarios right now.” Then at Yang. “But that doesn’t mean we should jump to a conclusion on who it should be without really thinking it over. It’s not like the tournament where we put our best single combatant forward; we need to look at it from a tactical perspective to see who might offset them the best.”

As much as she wanted to argue with her sister, she could see both the sense in it and the advantage. Eventually, Winter would see she had a point; the blonde had a target on her back for a lot of reasons. It just made the most sense for her to be the one fighting the Commander.

The Alpha stood abruptly, though her posture didn’t betray anger or frustration. She just seemed… weary, and perhaps a touch displeased with the current situation, but hid it well under an even tone. “Very well. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the cockpit.”

The moment the woman left the infirmary, the others turned to look at Weiss who gave a heavy sigh. “She’s fine, really. Upset for obvious reasons but she’ll become more sociable after some time alone to process. She’s always been the sort to busy herself with work when something’s truly bothering her.” Her lips curled into a tired smile. “Sound like anyone you know?”

“Just a little bit,” Blake replied, fidgeting slightly and looking over at Yang with an unspoken request flashing in her eyes.

Wordlessly, she agreed, getting up to scoop her partner into her arms and deposit the Faunus on Weiss’ bed. Clearly, they would both need a bit more time to rest before moving around on their own, and Ruby right along with them. “You three really took a beating, huh? Qrow, too. I’m kinda surprised Oobleck’s not down here with you.” When all three of them looked down, their shoulders sagging, a sinking weight fell onto her chest. She recognized that look on her sister’s face and it filled in some blanks for the others as well. “… he didn’t make it out, did he?”

Ruby shook her head. “He held them off while we got to the airship.”

Reclaiming her spot on her sister’s bed, Yang put her face in her hands and sighed.

Another loss, just like the others- she hadn’t borne witness to Penny’s death or Pyrrha’s the way Ruby had. Even Blake and Weiss had seen Penny’s last moments but Yang didn’t find out until much later, all at once- how quickly everything fell apart when Beacon fell. Now, she’d been absent and unaware yet again, only learning far after the fact that she’d never see them again. The former Beacon professors had hardly spent a few months with them after they linked up; she’d barely gotten to know the man as anything other than the history teacher with a doctorate and very insistent on reminding everyone of that.

“He’d be proud.” She looked up, seeing the tears her sister could hardly keep in check shining in silver eyes. “When he and Professor Port fought at the arena, he said that it was up to us to make history, to see it through. He’d be proud that he gave us another chance to do that.”

“Then, it’s truly up to us to ensure he didn’t make that sacrifice in vain,” Weiss said, hands clenched into fists- and it had to gall the Alpha to lose in any sense, she’d always been so proud, but this loss seemed so much more personal. “You three were the first friends I ever truly made and I’m already rather sick of losing them.”

“You’re not alone.” Blake turned on her side, laying an arm over her mate’s waist and resting her head on her shoulder, trying to soothe her as best she could. It probably wouldn’t do the Alpha any good to get caught up in fury or obsession right now when what she really needed was to recuperate. “We’ll put an end to this.”

“Yeah, we will.” Yang nodded, reaching over and pulling her sister into a hug, making no mention of the tears falling on her jacket. She understood, perhaps better than anyone, what it felt like to be pushed to the breaking point and trying to remain strong through it. She’d grown up essentially raising her little sister as best she could. But a person could only take so much before they buckled under the pressure and Ruby had already hit one wall in the process. The last thing they needed was mounting despair suffocating them. “And we’ll make sure his name gets recorded in the books when this is all over. All his research gets published- we’ll make sure he gets all that credit. That way, he’ll always be in the classroom.”

Rubbing Ruby’s back soothingly, she swallowed down the creeping fear that perhaps they’d bitten off more than they could chew. Simply put, failure wasn’t an option.

They  _had_ to win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends the first part of this VERY long journey. The next part is in the works but I will be gone for a bit, hence the adjusted update schedule. Buckle in, y'all. It does get better for these two... eventually.


	10. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After an extended hiatus, I'm back at this story with the next part. Small reminder that this is obviously a canon divergent AU, so things addressed in this and the next chapter are markedly different from canon. Majority was written, what, back in V4, lol, so I got pretty close all things considered.

Yang rubbed at the back of her neck, a sigh slipping past her lips as she descended down to the lowest deck, heading for one of the simulators. With two out of the four relics in their possession, they'd changed course to head straight to Vacuo, hoping to link up with Sun and his team for the third. However, they hadn't been able to reestablish contact with the Faunus, and any news that  _did_  manage to make it out of Vacuo tended towards the concerning side. With Commander Cotta in prime position to take the Atlas relic, Salem must've sent the rest of her cronies to try recovering Vacuo's relic; reports ranged from rampant Grimm attacks to suspicious activity all over the kingdom. It probably looked like a warzone at this point, and one side definitely had the edge when it came to turning the world upside down and coming out on the better end of the deal.

Then again, if she had to lay her lien down, she'd bet it on Sun. He wouldn't take them in a straight fight and slipping in and slipping back out happened to be one of his strongest skills.

That, and no one could really entertain the idea of more bad news at present, so even if it was a fool's hope, they needed to take it.

"Morning, Yang." She looked up and noted the slight smile on Winter's lips as she leaned against the door to one of the simulators. The Alpha certainly  _seemed_  to be in high spirits, despite having traded her usual uniform for a slightly loose, all gray jumpsuit. "Did you sleep well?"

"More or less," she replied, flipping her hair once as she reached the bottom of the stairs and rolling her shoulders. "What's with the outfit?"

"For the purposes of training you to fight against Terry, I've decided it would be easiest if I adopted their combat method as well, to better prepare you for the trials ahead."

Despite Ruby's objections in the infirmary, the Alpha had apparently changed her mind about Yang being the one to challenge her former partner when the time came. Now that Ruby, Weiss, and Blake had recovered enough to take turns flying the ship, the rest of them had some more downtime, which meant more training. Winter had mentioned to her last night before going up for her turn at the wheel, determining they were both fit enough to where the exertion wouldn't be detrimental to their responsibilities.

 _Practical, pragmatic_.  _Just like always._

"Makes sense, I guess."

"Trust me, it'll make more sense once we get started." She waved a hand towards the simulator. "After you."

"Have you even slept since yesterday?" Yang's brow furrowed as she stepped past the woman. "Ren said you took the wheel from him and Ruby went to relieve you this morning."

"Admittedly, I haven't, but I'm quite used to sleep deprivation at this point." A shrug. "I will try to catch a nap after training, though. It's your turn to pilot, correct?"

"Yeah." Rubbing at her wrists to ensure Ember Celica had locked into place on both, the Omega looked around, noticing the room had a few new additions since she'd last been there. "Where'd you even  _find_  this stuff?"

"Cannibalized other parts of the ship." Winter pointed out the speakers now mounted in odd places on every well, the wires for them taped in zigzag patterns to and fro, as well as fresh paint making splotches in a myriad of colors. It was... disorienting and vaguely concerning to look at, honestly. "We don't use the officers' mess and a few other spaces, so I took the sound system apart there, and I found a box of dust lights mixed in with the supplies you brought from the base. Cracked open, they worked well enough for paint."

"Okay. I guess the next question would be  _why_?"

"Because half of fighting Terry is fighting yourself." She held her hands up. "I know it may seem crazy, but Terry's semblance functions in a manner that's very... odd, compared to most. Their semblance doesn't imbue them with any extraordinary power, like yours or Ruby's or even mine. Theirs, instead, works to break down their opponents' senses." The Alpha pressed her lips into a thin line before sighing. "When you fight them, they will induce hallucinations, mostly auditory and visual ones. They can make it so you accidentally attack a friend or, in some cases, even injure yourself." A surprised chuckle burst from her lips before she coughed and looked away. "My apologies."

She raised a brow. "What was that about?"

"I just... recalled something." A sigh slipped past her lips as they curled into a wistful smile. "When I mastered summoning Beowolves, I challenged them to a one on one duel. We were in our first year, just a month into being a team, and I felt it necessary to prove that not only was I a capable leader, I was the strongest fighter on our team. I wanted to secure my spot in the Vytal Festival's singles round as soon as possible." She shook her head. "Five minutes into the fight, they had me so confused, I ordered my summons to attack  _me_  instead, and they drug me around like a chew toy for the remainder of the fight until I finally tapped out."

Yang couldn't help it. Just picturing a younger version of the Alpha being playfully mauled by a small pack of white Beowolves made it impossible not to laugh but the cringe on the Alpha's face absolutely sold it and she doubled over with laughter almost immediately.

"I was not  _that_  amused at the time but... hindsight lends humility, sometimes." Then her expression sobered slightly. "However, I can assure you that the little trick they pulled then is a mere shadow of what they're capable of now. You will be forced to combat not only their actual skills but also an untold magnitude of further complications, the only protection against which would be learning to block out sound and sight, fight solely using your aura as a sense."

"I... didn't think that was even possible." She blinked, something occurring to her just then. "Wait, do their eyes glow when their semblance is active?"

Surprise registered on the Alpha's expression. "Yes, actually. You've seen it in action, I take it?"

"Yeah, I think they tried to use it on me when we first met." Her brows furrowed. "It was like... I kept almost saying things I knew I shouldn't. I kept relaxing without even thinking about it or noticing." She bit her lips, wondering if she should mention that being reminded of Winter seemed to be the only thing that kept her resolve strong throughout the conversation. "Their voice kinda... changed? The longer we talked, I mean."

"They were trying to lull you into a sense of comfort. Altering the pitch of their voice assists their semblance- I'm sure there's a scientific reason for it but I've always likened it to a siren's song, pitching just right to sound either familiar or warm, inviting." Winter shrugged her shoulders. "It seems to be an apt description."

"I'll say."

"It also presents a bit of a problem. It's not the full extent of their abilities but a precursor." She made a gesture. "On the one hand, you'll be better equipped to notice when they're trying to influence your perceptions. However, on the other, you'll be susceptible regardless." With a shrug, her hands dropped. "I know very intimately how Terry's semblance operates and not even  _I_  am immune. It takes focus and determination to remain unaffected."

With a nod of her head, she started looking around at the walls again while stealing glances back when she could. "Well... guess it makes sense why they'd be the head of a wetwork team. They'd probably be good at the whole infiltration bit, yeah?"

"Some part of me still can't believe they actually got approval for that." The Alpha turned her head, reaching up to run a hand through her bangs. "They always talked about it, thought it would be the next step in securing peace for Atlas. Personally, I always saw it as a step backwards, putting people's lives at risk rather than using the Knights and Paladins."

"Or your summons." Yang paused, gaze roving over the woman's posture, picking out the little details. "It kills you that we're having to do this."

"That's putting it lightly." Winter sighed, lips pulling into a tight line. "It was Terry's idea that I accept the invitation into the Specialist ranks. They said I'd have more freedom there than ever before, plus a stable method of supporting myself should father revoke his support. By all measures, I doubt I'd be here if it weren't for them." She shook her head. "The idea that I might have to kill them in order to achieve a goal we're both striving towards makes me sick."

Two impulses warred in her right then. She wanted to reach out and console the woman, at least throw an arm around her shoulders, silently give that physical reassurance that Winter could lean on her if needed. It's what she would've done a month ago... but things had changed, leading to her second impulse: change the topic, get them back to training. Avoidance had always been in the Schnees' pocket, a tried and true method they could pull out and rely on when things looked tough, or when they just couldn't be assed to deal with it properly. Weiss had done it several times while they were at Beacon.

So she stood there, frozen in place, trying to figure out what to do for so long that it ultimately didn't matter.

"Enough of that." The Alpha shook herself, turning to head over to a control panel. "We should get started."

"Okay, where should-" With the press of a button,  _something_  started playing over the speakers, a myriad of sounds akin to metal being torn asunder, nails on a chalkboard, screaming cats, and so many other  _awful_  noises that clashed and bounced around the room that suddenly felt far too small for the depths of the sounds it not contained. Not only that, but the hard light that would usually generate enemies had diffused, throwing strange shapes and shadows against the walls, illuminating the space in a way not too dissimilar to a particularly terribly lit rave. Yang tried to cover her ears but caught motion out of the corner of her eye, instead raising her arms to block a flying kick aimed at her head. "WHAT THE HELL!"

"THE FIRST RULE OF FIGHTING TERRY IS THAT THEY DON'T FIGHT FAIR!" Using her glyphs to recover, Winter landed on her feet in a decidedly aggressive stance. "YOU MUST BE READY AT ALL TIMES FOR ANYTHING! NOW, DEFEND YOURSELF!"

The Omega had to hand it to the woman; this fight felt nothing like all their previous spars. Somehow, the jumpsuit and the paint on the walls seemed to blend together, making it difficult for her to get a good look at the Alpha's outline. It made her misjudge distance more than once, throwing off her balance and opening her up to more than one cheap kidney shots that hurt much more than they should've. Then again, what with the auditory overload and not being able to rely on her eyes, it stood to reason that the shots weren't full or even half strength- just enough to annoy her and compound everything else. Amid the chaos of the blaring sounds and the disorienting distances and dissonances, Winter managed to crouch low and sweep her off her feet, forcing Yang to discharge Ember Celica to push her back, buy her a moment to try and center herself.

She couldn't trust her eyes or her ears, so she went with her gut and her nose, waiting until she could smell the woman's scent before taking a swing, connecting with the Alpha's jaw. It surprised her almost as much as her target; she hadn't expected Winter to be that close, or for her scent to be so weak that she couldn't catch a whiff of it until she was right on top of her.

_... bad word choice..._

Stumbling back, the woman smiled and nodded before heading towards the control panel. "GOOD!" A simple touch of a button brought the cacophony to a halt and allowed both of them a much needed respite. "So, you were able to feel me coming?"

"No." She tapped a finger against her nose. "More senses than just sight and sound."

"Ah, I thought maybe you'd already picked up on it." A sigh slipped past her lips. "Unless something's changed, Terry's always been partial to... strong suppressants. It makes catching their scent almost impossible."

"Oh..." Well, that explained a bit. "I thought that was just, ya know, the situation-"

"I can assure you, it wasn't." Winter ran a hand through her bangs again before adjusting the jumpsuit, a frown on her lips. It clearly didn't suit her tastes though she did wear it rather well. Not like her usual ensemble, of course, but still nice. "They've always been keenly aware that their scent could act as a sort of grounding rod for an enemy, capable of breaking whatever illusion they've managed to trick their target into believing. As long as I've known them, they've done everything possible to mitigate it."

"Right." She puffed out a breath. "So, no sight, no sound, no scent I can rely on... I don't suppose they can make food taste differently too, huh?"

Another fond yet distance smile flashed across her face. "I'd be lying if I said that military rations didn't taste better when they're around but that might just be the camaraderie."

Sighing, she nodded, reaching up to rub at her ear. "So, round two?"

"Can you handle that?"

Her pride bristled, chin tilting up. "Yeah. It's just a bit of noise."

"Very well then. Round two."

As the onslaught of sound and flashing lights returned, Yang searched in vein for something to 'ground' her, something she could focus on to help drown out the... distracting sounds all around her. She needed something, something she could cling to, and as Winter landed a glancing strike across her back, a thought wormed its way into her head- the same thing she'd used all throughout her time at the base, her anger, and the long lists of reasons she had to be angry. Gritting her teeth, she tried to force the thoughts away, not wanting to think about panting breath in her ear to drown out everything else.

Distracted as she was, the Alpha managed to sweep her feet again, and somehow get behind her before she'd righted herself to kick her in the back, sending her stumbling forward.

She turned to take a blind swing only to have her arm caught, her entire body weight lifted up a moment before she was slammed to the ground- and she'd  _really_  like to know how that happened but couldn't connect the steps, only aware that now she had the woman's weight pinning her, and the vibrations from the sound system were pulsating through her back. Opening her eyes proved to be a mistake, her vision filled with Winter hovering over her, and her blood rushing in her ears accompanied the stuttering in her chest as she tried not to imagine-

_Wait._

Her heartbeat. Her breathing. If she focused hard enough, she could hear that above all else.

Yang grit her teeth and snapped her head forward, headbutting the Alpha and disorienting her just enough that she could work her arm free. From there, she escaped the hold like she would any other, using a round from her left gauntlet to give her some much needed space.

Now, she could focus, no longer thrown off by the sounds assaulting her, dialed into her own breathing and heartbeat, popping her ears by clenching her jaw- anything that helped block out the sounds.

"GOOD!" Winter rubbed at the spot just above the bridge of her nose. "NOW, HIT ME!"

And thus, their dance began anew, though with far more dodging on Yang's part than usual. Without her blade, the strikes directed at her weren't enough to charge her up; she'd end up expending more energy than she had available. Sure, her semblance allowed her to tank a lot of hits, but half of that came from essentially absorbing the damage like a sponge before dishing it back out. Without damage, it just needled her. Whittled her down.

_Your aura is both a forcefield that surrounds you, acts as your aegis, and a deeply ingrained part of who you are as a person. Your very soul, turned into something much greater- it can be the power to create, to destroy, to embolden, or to defile. How you use it is up to you but you must learn the extent to which it can be used if you wish to survive in the field..._

This time, she jumped over the leg trying to sweep her, splitting her attention between dodging attacks and running through Goodwitch's Aura Application Review as quick as she could, trying to find something she could use. It seemed like so long ago, and even longer still the original class at Signal that taught her the basics, but she'd always been a good student. She did all the homework, read every page given to her, so she  _must_  have read something at some point that hinted at something greater, something she could use.

To try and buy herself a little more space, she slammed her fists together, sending a burst of heat lashing out in every direction, stymied only by Winter throwing up a glyph to stop it, blowing a bit of heat back-

_There!_

It never occurred to her before. Not until that moment. She pushed her aura out  _all the time_  when her semblance flared; she just never took the moment to realize that it could hit  _against_  something or that she could  _feel_  it hitting against that thing.

Putting up her fists, she threw out a few punches- shadow boxing against Winter who danced well enough away from her strikes. But she wasn't trying to land a hit, not yet, not until she could really get a feel for it, sensing her own fire being rebuffed, even in small ways.

One, two, a feint to the left. Then she felt it, the wind up for an attack, and she shot forward, landing a wicked uppercut to the Alpha's jaw and sending her crashing back against the wall.

"CAN WE FUCKING STOP NOW?" She reached up, covering her ears with her hands. "PLEASE?"

"OF COURSE!" Winter smiled, going over to the control panel and hitting a button to return the room to some manner of peace again. "I do apologize for the extreme measures."

She rubbed at her ear, half certain one eardrum had ruptured. Yang liked metal as much as the next adrenaline junkie, but  _volume control_  existed for a reason. "Well, it worked, I guess. Although, you could've given me a  _hint_  you know."

"If I knew how to articulate it, I most certainly would have tried." The woman shrugged, clasping her hands behind her back. "When I learned, I had Terry there to teach me, and they managed to do so in a way that... didn't need words." A rare tendril of doubts wormed its way into blue eyes, causing her shoulders to fall slightly. "I'm... frankly not even certain this will work. It's just the best I could personally come up with at the moment."

The Omega hummed, rubbing at her lower back- the takedown was a rather nice one and might've actually given her cause for concern in a real fight. "Well, I definitely learned how to use my aura as a sense. Kinda- more like sonar. I pushed it out and it kinda bounced back at me when it hit you." She blinked. "And, I started listening to my heartbeat and my breathing, focusing on that. It, uh, kept me grounded, helped me ignore everything else."

"Good- that's, that's excellent." A smile. "Thank you, Yang. For putting it into words."

"No problem." Her gaze darted over to the console, noting that it still seemed hooked up to the ship's clock. "Ah, crap, is that the time? I need to get to the cockpit." She started heading out. "Make sure you get some sleep. Same time tomorrow?"

"Indeed. I'll see you then."

The moment the door closed behind her, Yang let out a sigh of relief. Not at just completing the training, or the first step of it anyway, but at making it through being in an enclosed space with Winter without her emotions getting the better of her. It... almost felt like old times, except for the moments when she was trying to will it to be something it wasn't. And if she ignored the painful sensation in her chest, she could do this again and again.

Whatever it took.

Shaking herself and slapping her cheek lightly to try and physically push the thoughts from her mind, Yang headed for the stairway, quite nearly running into Nora halfway up to the next deck. "Whoa!"

"Oh, sorry, Yang!" The Beta laughed, lightly punching her shoulder. "I forget you can be pretty light on your feet when you wanna be. You kinda spent the last month or so stomping around the ship."

She shrugged. "Yeah, well, I'm trying to be more considerate. We'll all need to sleep when we can if we're going to make it to Vacuo."

"Just make sure we don't go off course." Nora winked, then passed her. "Don't land the ship!"

"I think you mean 'crash'."

"Knowing you, they're the same thing!"

Rolling her eyes, she continued up the stairs, heading straight for the cockpit. Hopefully, Ruby wouldn't be too peeved about her being late.

* * *

Lilac eyes roved in a pattern. Skyline, radar, map, bearing, altitude, fuel, back to skyline. Atlas military vessels were primarily designed for long term air support, meaning they would at least reach Vytal in some form or fashion before needing to worry about refueling. However, that didn't mean any number of mechanical failures couldn't happen at any minute; were it not for that single thought alone, they probably would leave the entire bridge to be manned by Knights. As it stood, the mechanical minutemen remained dormant in their wall mounts. Last thing they needed was Qrow decided to rip a few to pieces just to flip Ironwood the bird again.

"Hey there, Blondie. You come here often?"

Silently, she wished a Grimm could spontaneously manifest in the cockpit at that very second. Somehow, it would be less alarming  _and_  less concerning than the Alpha stalking through the door at that moment. "Your shift isn't for a few more hours, Stryker."

"I thought there was supposed to be two people up here at all times?" She paused. "I mean, except when the Specialist is up here."

"Winter's the only one of us actually trained to operate one of these things solo." Yang sighed, trying to re-establish her rhythm while ignoring the presence now casually leaning against the co-pilot's seat. "And I asked Blake to go grab us some food. It's lunch and I worked up an appetite this morning."

"Oh, did you now?" The Alpha leaned closer, making a show of drawing a deep breath through her nose.

Something that she did  _not_  like one bit, throwing a scowling glance with a bit of a snarl at the woman. " _Watch it_."

"Look, I thought it'd be rude if I outright  _asked_  if you had some... alone time this morning." That cocky smirk that she hated just stoking her anger even higher. "I mean, seems to me like you went a few rounds-"

"I was training, with Winter." She managed through gritted teeth. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Training? Or  _training_?"

Hitting the auto-pilot button, the Omega turned her chair and shot to her feet, clenching her hands into fists at her sides. Her eyes were perhaps a shade or two from their burning crimson and it was only through sheer tenacity that she had a handle on her anger to  _that_  degree. "I'm sure you think this whole teasing routine is real cute, and I might've fallen for it if I was six and raised by wolves, but I  _don't_ think it's anything except a colossal waste of time and effort right now." She paused. "Honestly, just do us both a favor and buzz off before I throw you out the airlock."

Stryker chuckled, tilting her head. "You know... I  _do_  like 'em feisty." A shrug. "Too bad the Specialist doesn't."

And  _that_  was the last straw.

Yang swung, full on decked the Alpha straight in the face- would've at least broken her nose if not for her aura being focused enough to absorb most of the devastating force. It didn't save Stryker from sailing through the air and into the cockpit door, falling to the floor in a heap.

For one single moment, she felt  _good_  about it. Laying the woman out had proven to be the single most uncomplicated thing she'd accomplished in what felt like a small eternity, a simple matter of cause and effect, a means of catharsis.

"Ah, fuck!" Stryker reached up, rubbing at her face. " _There_  we go. 'Bout time you cracked." Shaking her head, she pushed herself to her feet. "Thought I'd got you back before we hit the base but you're a tough nut, you know that?"

The Omega blinked. "What?"

"Look... I'm not big on the touchy feely stuff." The soldier shrugged one shoulder and spread her hands. "That's just... not my style. But that doesn't mean I'm completely blind." Her lips pressed into a thin line. "You lost someone. I get that. And I know you and all the others are doing your best to soldier on but... take it from a soldier- it's not as easy as that."

"So, what?" She made a gesture with her hand. "You think me laying you out somehow makes it all better?"

The Alpha raised a brow. "Do you  _not_  feel better?"

Yang paused, muttering as she crossed her arms over her chest. "... I didn't say that..."

"Yeah, I thought so." Stryker leaned back against the cockpit door. "Look, I ain't saying it's the best method, but I'm no good at talking things out.  _You_  are, though, and you can help your friends better than I can. So, if I get you back in the game, you can help them. It's a domino effect."

"Or a pyramid scheme."

"Same difference." That cocky smirk returned. "Hey, you wanna pretend like my charms aren't working, that's fine. We can argue from now until the end of the world, which may be a lot sooner than any of us would like if we can't get back and firing on all cylinders, if you catch my drift." Stryker pointed at her, expression sobering up for a rare few seconds. "But, now you need to shake off that dark cloud that's following you around everywhere. Oobl-  _Doctor_  Oobleck wouldn't want you lot worrying after him. Not when there's more important stuff to do." Then, any form of seriousness evaporated in the blink of an eye. "Then again, if you've got some steam to blow off, my offer still stands."

"Thanks for clearing that up," she said, rolling her eyes and dropping back into the pilot's seat, taking the auto-pilot off. "For a moment there, I actually thought you were being a decent person for a change."

"Well, I'm glad you came to your senses." The door opened, prompting a little noise of surprise. "Oh, hey, Blake. What's for lunch today?"

"Green bean casserole with military trimmings."

"Ugh. Forget I asked."

Yang kept her attention on the horizon, hands gripping the yoke far too tight as she tried not to go back there and throw one more good punch. Just for the catharsis of shutting Stryker up, really- she didn't have a particular fondness for green bean casserole either, especially in Atlesian military style, but the  _last_  thing she wanted to go was agree with the woman- but her chance evaporated the moment appeared as her partner entered the cockpit and the Alpha saw herself out.

"What was that about?" Blake sat down in the co-pilot seat, holding up a plate with a spoon already stuck in it. "Was she giving you grief again?"

"I think that's the only way she knows how to interact with people," she replied, accepting the plate while her partner took over flying the ship. However, now she had the nagging thought in the back of her mind. "How's Weiss doing? I know she's up and about but is she, you know... our favorite overdramatic Alpha?"

"She's... doing well, I think." The Faunus frowned, her ears twitching in that way they did when she partially lied. Then they straightened as amber eyes flashed her way. "But... if we're being honest... I think she blames herself."

Mindful of the minefield she'd be stepping into, Yang cautiously reached over and laid a hand on Blake's shoulder. "What happened out there?"

"At first, nothing..." She shook her head. "Sure, we came across a few Grimm, but nothing we couldn't handle. Even the parasite ones- small, barely bigger than my hand, they were hard to spot but they didn't put up too much of a fuss. The whole lot of them seemed... ancient, like the way Alpha Beowolves and Ursas will bide their time rather than attacking right away- they did that. Avoided us, until Ruby found the relic." Then her lips pressed into a tight line. "After that, it became chaos. It wasn't like anything I've ever seen- not even the Fall. They didn't just attack randomly or get in each other's way- the Grimm moved in... in formations, almost, together."

She paused, spoon halfway to her mouth. "Wait, like they were sharing a hive mind?"

"Yeah, like that. The parasites banded together, formed this giant... Grimm blob, and other Grimm kept darting in and out of it- trying to land a hit was a nightmare, we couldn't track them for anything. There were so many of the parasites, they kept absorbing our attacks; for every ten we killed, it felt like a hundred more would take their place. If it weren't for Ruby and Qrow using their scythes to clear them out in wide swaths, we might've been done for entirely." Blake shook her head. "Speed, we were prepared for, but not their coordination, sacrificing some of their number just to slow us down so they could set up a trap around the next turn. You can't outrun something that's already surrounded you." A frustrated sigh slipped past her lips. "Ultimately, we had no choice. Weiss couldn't summon enough decoys to buy us time. That's why... Doctor Oobleck..."

Abandoning the plate on the console, Yang reached out, wrapping up her partner in a one sided embrace. "Remember when we went to Mountain Glenn? On a mission that was probably way too advanced for us? Doctor Oobleck didn't help us out  _at all_  until it was obvious we were in over our heads. He knew we had it in us then; he wouldn't have let us run around like that if he thought we couldn't handle it, and we've only become stronger since." She pulled back to meet the Omega's eyes. "We can do this."

"But we're going to lose more along the way. Yang, we both know that." Fear pooled in her eyes, much like the tears beginning to form. "But I don't think Weiss understands it. And I don't think it's her being optimistic- she's been locking herself in training rooms, pushing herself to the brink. You know Weiss takes stuff like this personal. I've been trying to talk her into resting more but, every time she looks at me-"

"She sees her mate, the one she's sworn to protect above all else," she said, pushing aside the twinge of jealousy and the melancholy to focus on what really mattered. "Next time she's up here with Rubes, I'll talk to both of 'em. Turn on that Omega charm and bully her into listening."

"I'm just worried about her." Blake ran a hand through her hair and between her ears, a sigh slipping out. "I mean- yes, as a mate, but also as a friend and teammate. I feel like... like she's going the same place we did."

They hadn't properly named it yet but 'obsession and then rejection' pretty much covered it, except for how wordy it was. The mindset both of them fell subject to at different times over different things- Blake over the White Fang and Adam, Yang over the loss of her arm. 'Depression' would probably also be adequate, though it manifested in unique ways. She fell into the more classical definition while the Faunus had run towards the problem and then away from it.

"You aren't running away this time, right?" She leveled a serious look at her partner.

"I'm staying."

"Good." Running a hand over her face, she settled back into the pilot's chair and sighed, then grabbed for her plate. "She won't open up to me, probably. We- we've gotten closer but I don't think she'll tell me what's going through her head. So, when she inevitably clams up and won't talk to me anymore, be ready. She'll go to either you or Ruby."

Blake nodded, though a chuckle snuck out as she checked the map. "I think you're underestimating her opinion of you."

Her lips tugged into a smile as she thought of their conversation back in Mistral. "We'll see. Just be ready if she doesn't, okay?"

Mentally, she went over when next Ruby and Weiss had piloting duties, everyone agreeing that reverting to their designated partners would probably be... safer, in most respects, and everyone trusted Ren enough that pairing him with Nora didn't bother anyone. Jaune was out of the rotation, what with Oscar being restricted to bed rest still, and Goodwitch had forbidden Qrow from flying after his mere  _presence_  in the cock pit had caused the radar to malfunction. That meant Ruby and Weiss would probably be back in there after Ren and Nora's next turn, sometime during the night. So, she could either wake up early and go to the cockpit before Blake arrived  _or_  come in at the beginning of their piloting shift and let them stew. Less sleep for her but, ultimately, it might push Weiss into talking to  _someone_  sooner rather than later.

* * *

Yang lightly rapped her knuckles on the door, waiting a moment before hitting the button to open it. Even if he wasn't awake, she wanted to pop in and check on Oscar, make sure he had enough blankets; he hadn't stopped shivering once he started talking again. At first, they thought maybe he'd caught a cold during the run, but the longer it wore on, the less likely that seemed. Not even Goodwitch had a good idea on an alternative, though, which left them effectively in the dark.

Seeing as Oscar joined up with them carrying even less than they did, his room remained rather... sterile. Ozpin's cane leaning against the wall by the bed, a little mechanical bird thing that Ruby had fashioned out of spare parts they found in the cargo bay sitting on the dresser, and a stack of drawings he'd made from the flashes of memory that had started bleeding over from Ozpin's consciousness seemed to be the only things that weren't inherent to the room. Admittedly, she didn't have much else in hers, but she'd gotten acclimated to the idea of leaving most of her stuff behind when she chose to go to Beacon. He'd made the decision to leave things behind... a bit quicker and with less time to actually acknowledge everything that came with it.

With a sigh, her gaze landed on the bed, lilac eyes flicking over the boy's slumbering form. If nothing else, his shivering had stopped for the moment, so she took that as a good sign and set the plate she's brought- spaghetti and meatballs, seriously, why did the military have literal  _tons_  of the stuff on a ship?- on the dresser. But before she could exit the room, he called out to her.

Well...  _Oscar_  didn't.

"Miss Xiao Long." She turned around, a frown on her lips as their eyes locked- she could always tell by the eyes, if nothing else. "May I have a moment of your time?"

"Goodwitch said you were supposed to stay away until Oscar recovered," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's still not okay, you know."

"I do. And I know why... it just took me an embarrassingly long time to realize it." He groaned, sitting up and moving so he could rest against the wall. The beds didn't have proper headboards, which would probably be a bit more comfortable, but he ignored it for the moment. "If you'd prefer, you can send Ruby in, and I'll explain it to her instead. But it should be soon, if either of us are to recover."

"Guess I'm lucky then." Her sister stepped into the room, offering a little shrug as an explanation. "I thought, if he  _was_  awake, it'd be nice to talk to him. I promised him and Jaune we'd do more training after the mission since they, ya know... really need it."

"More than you know," Ozpin said, that little tint of amusement that seemed to be ever present in his demeanor when he'd worn a different face entirely absent. "Salem... is much stronger than I anticipated... and I think the time for keeping secrets is long past over."

"Well, glad you came to that conclusion at a sensible moment." Yang couldn't help the little bit of vitriol in her voice. Although she hadn't really taken Raven's words to heart, she could see a pattern emerging. "Let's hear it. What else have you been holding back? What's wrong with Oscar?"

"Yang, I'm not sure if you've heard the full details about Amber but I'll just be going through the highlights for now." He took in a deep breath. "She was the Fall Maiden, before Cinder stole her powers. Until Atlas, I hadn't been able to piece together exactly how she managed it, but now I know. Salem has somehow created a new breed of Grimm for the express purpose of leeching a person's aura from them, stealing their essence- their very soul." His eyes closed, a pained expression contorting his features for a moment as small hands grasped at the bed sheets. "I'm not sure if it's an additional ability or simply the human psyche unable to cope with the trauma, but the attack has inflicted lingering nightmares. It's... like a mental poison that simply won't leave. That's part of why we're taking so long to recover."

"Wait, wait wait wait, there's a literal soul sucking Grimm out there?" Yang shook her head, beginning to pace. "And it was on  _that_  base?"

"Salem has to keep in contact with her minions; she doesn't trust anyone enough to let them run rampant. I know that well enough." Ozpin groaned. "I'm sorry, the memories are difficult to bear- she anticipated I would seek out the medium through which she speaks to them and had the Grimm waiting for me. Or maybe it was... just standing guard for any who dared enter, I don't know. When it attacked, Oscar did his best to shield me... there's so little of him left now."

The Omega took a step towards the bed, eyes flashing red as a snarl curled her lips, but Ruby darted in front, bodily blocking her from reaching her destination. "But he's still there, right? Oscar- he's going to be okay?"

"I don't know." He took a moment to breath. "Amber never recovered, for all the time she spent asleep, but I truly believe this confrontation didn't last as long. As soon as I realized what was happening, I took control and destroyed the beast, but having one's soul torn asunder is not an injury that mends easily."

"Or at all." She snarled, pushing lightly against her sister, at once ready to follow through with her threat and unwilling to put Oscar through any more agony. "You don't know, do you? One way or another?"

"No. I don't." And then she saw it, the acknowledgment and realization of being uncertain. "For all the centuries I've walked this planet, I  _don't know_  if he can ever recover. I don't know if anyone can." Lips pressed into a thin line, he slowly lowered his head to stare at his lap. "Frankly... Salem has progressed to a point that has outpaced my understanding and expectations entirely. I don't know what else she may be capable of."

Ruby took a deep breath- it sounded like she was trying to rally her courage, until it all fled her in a sigh that dropped her shoulders. "So, the times before, when Salem tried rising to power and destroying you, she-"

"She's never been this close." He looked up at them. "And I'm afraid... of what comes next..."

"Professor Ozpin, you should've told us what you were trying to do before we went to the base." It probably didn't sound it to anyone else, but Yang could recognize the carefully restrained fury in her sister's voice. The Beta still wouldn't let her advance though, somehow learning to express her anger in a much different way, and as much as she admired the young woman for it, she'd also feel a  _lot_  better if she could throw a punch at  _something_. "If we'd known that there was a possibility being isolated would put any of us at risk, we never would've split up like we did. That...  _whatever_  it was could've just as easily been in Cotta's office. It could've been Yang, or Nora, or Blake or Ren who'd been attacked instead of Oscar, and he's only alive because there's  _two_  of you in that body."

"I didn't know-"

Ruby, however, let enough of her anger shine through to snap at him, ending his defense before it could properly begin. "You  _knew_  that something terrible happened to Amber, a Maiden, and that it was something you couldn't reverse! That much alone should've told you enough; none of us are as strong as a Maiden!"

" _You_  can be-"

"I don't know how!" She threw her arms into the air. "I didn't know about these stupid 'silver eye' powers until it was too late and I've had  _zero_  time to practice them! I can't do anything on this ship because I don't know if I might accidentally  _tear it apart_! Where would we be then, huh?" Ruby jabbed a finger at him. "You  _knew_  when you saw my eyes what I could be capable of, and you didn't  _say a word_. All that time, I might've been able to- I dunno, do  _something_ , at least know how to bring them out! Maybe then, Beacon wouldn't have been overrun by Grimm! Maybe, Yang wouldn't have lost her arm! Maybe Pyrrha would still be alive!"

"That's not-"

"Sis-"

"No!" She rounded, tears in her eyes but helpless fury written across her expression as she looked up at her big sister. "You don't get to tell me to calm down! You didn't watch Pyrrha fight  _and lose_  to a Maiden! You don't know how powerful they are, how strong Cinder is! Ask Jaune- she'd  _just_  gotten full control of the Maiden powers when she fought Pyrrha, and Amber had them for, what? Months? Years? Do we even know? No! We fucking don't!" Then she turned back, glaring at Ozpin as her voice raised, the timbre taking on an eerie edge, something that rattled Yang's bones. "Because you didn't tell us when it might've helped! Then, you  _still_  wouldn't tell us, and Oscar's half dead because of it! With you down, we couldn't bring Professor Goodwitch or Professor Port with us, and now Doctor Oobleck's dead, too! So what else, huh? HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE BEFORE YOU START TELLING US THE TRUTH?!"

That's when Yang saw the light arcing off her sister's form, bleeding from her eyes as something crackled- not electricity, but something equally powerful and ancient, like lightning gathering within the small room and readying to strike. Bereft of anything else to do- and absolutely refusing to render Ruby unconscious to stop it- Yang threw her arms around her sister in a bear hug and tried to reason with her, the only way she knew how.

"RUBY, IF YOU DON'T STOP RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ALL DEAD!"

That brought everything to an immediate halt. The light died, leaving nothing but the young woman's ragged breathing filling the room... until she sobbed. "Mercury lied. Emerald and Cinder, they lied. That's what killed Penny, and then Pyrrha- every time someone lies, one of my friends  _dies_ or my sister  _loses her arm_."

"Rubes..." She reached up, smoothing a hand through her sister's hair as she turned in her arms, returning the embrace and sobbing into her chest, in a way she hadn't done since she was ten years old. They'd both had to grow up fast- even faster, what with choosing to become Huntresses like their mother. But in that moment, her little sister was just that, and she was scared. "Hey, listen to me, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know-"

"That's the point." She sniffled. "I didn't know.  _I never know_ , not until it's too late, and the one person who  _does_  know doesn't bother telling us until he doesn't know anymore." A few more choked sobs and stuttered breaths. "What are we supposed to do now?"

Yang's gaze darted to Ozpin, who at least had the sense to look ashamed but obviously had run short on words of encouragement. So she stepped in when others failed, as always. "What we've been doing from the beginning: we fight. We fight the unknown just like we fight everything else, with every ounce we have in us. We've made it this far, Rubes, and for all we've lost, we've still got  _a lot_  left to lose. We're not giving up here."

Slowly, in fits and spurts, Ruby stopped crying and eventually pulled away, swiping at her eyes. "Get everyone together. We'll meet on the bridge; we need to tell everyone what we're going up against." She turned, looking back at Ozpin. "Do you have anything else to tell us? Literally  _anything_  at all?"

For a moment, it looked like he would just meekly shake his head and that would be the end of it. But, then, he nodded resolutely. "A few things."

"Good." She pushed against Yang's shoulder. "You round everyone up. I'll be there as soon as I can." Her eyes flashed- not with raw, unimaginable power but pure determination. "It's time we're all on the same page."

"You got it," the Omega replied, heading out of the room and pausing in the doorway. "Don't kill him."

A brief chuckle. "I came here with the intention of telling  _you_  that."

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen." She cracked a smirk. "See you soon, Sis."

With that, she started for the closest PA system access- every deck had at least one, and she'd passed this one enough times that she didn't even need to consciously think of where to go.

That gave her mind time to wander, kicking herself for being so wrapped up in her own problems to notice how badly her sister was hurting. Yeah, it killed her on the inside that they'd lost so many friends, so many good people, but that stemmed from the fact that she'd been rendered completely helpless in every event, cut off from the others, ignorant of the dangers and the struggles. But Ruby had been there-  _right there_ \- and still couldn't do anything. That had to hurt so much worse.

Her right hand clenched into a tight fist. She might not be whole anymore- may not be a mate or have a chance at that ever again- but she could take care of her family, her friends. That much, she could do.

Blake's words from earlier bounced around in her head as she picked up the hand mic, keying it up and leaving absolutely no room for argument or dismissal in her voice.

"Everyone, get to the bridge. Emergency meeting- no one is exempt. Wake the others up if you have to;  _everyone_  will be there. Now, move."

Replacing it, she headed for the cockpit herself.


	11. Under Pressure

Yang stood near the console, watching the door and ticking off the attendees. Winter and Nora were among the last to appear, surprising her slightly; Team SNOW were among the first to appear, Stryker wasting no time in line them up off to one side to await the others' arrival. Maybe it was because getting called suddenly seemed familiar enough for the would-be soldiers not to question it or maybe it was just that Stryker didn't want to run the risk of being literally thrown out the airlock. Either way, she appreciated it, especially when everyone managed to beat Ruby to the cockpit.

After a while of waiting, Jaune shuffled over to her, rubbing his neck. "Hey, Yang... what's this about? Did... something else happen?"

"Ruby just wants to make sure we're all on the same page," she replied, not wanting to alarm anyone just yet. "Give it a few minutes. She'll be here soon."

"Okay." He nodded, though it took him another moment to move away. By the hitch in his shoulders, she could tell that he had at least an inkling as to what that meant, or perhaps just a faint hope. Either way, it probably wouldn't come as a surprise when everything was laid out.

"When you say 'same page'..." Goodwitch started, glancing over at her from the pilot's seat. "Whose page are we talking about?"

"Ozpin's. Winter's. Yours." She shrugged. "There's only going to be one page after this."

"About damn time." The Alpha looked down at the map to check their heading, then chuckled. "But forgive me if I don't believe you." Yang's brows furrowed, looking back to her and catching the knowing look in her eyes. "Are you planning on telling Winter  _exactly_  how you feel?"

Her shoulders fell. "Not you, too."

"Yes, 'me too'; I may no longer be your teacher but I'm still your elder. And I'm going to put this as simply as I can." Her gaze sharpened behind her glasses. "Every life is too short to spend it denying your heart's desire. Ours especially, given the nature of our fight. Stop lying to yourself and everyone else, even if nothing good will come of it. Honesty can bring with it its own liberation."

"You know, most people who've given me advice lately have either been horrible in following it themselves or absolutely miserable anyway." Lilac eyes darted towards Qrow for that last point.

"I can assure you, I've followed this advice myself and take it very seriously. Why do you think I was so insistent on contacting James?" For a moment, her brows furrowed, until Goodwitch cracked a smile and chuckled. "Ah, I mean General Ironwood. I shouldn't be surprised you don't remember his full name; you're likely not very fond of him, now are you?"

"I kinda only know him as the guy who put me under house arrest." She blinked, suddenly putting the pieces together and unable to believe it on some level. "Wait- you and him?"

"Yes. I know it's unconventional but... the heart wants what it wants." Mating bonds between Alphas weren't nearly as common; usually, Alphas would never be able to stand each other long enough to fall in love, and most only ever fell into 'like' with other Alphas. However, there existed an exception to every rule, and one just happened to be sitting in the pilot's seat. "We both know our places in this fight. Unfortunately, it's not together." Her expression softened, in that same dopey way Weiss' did when she looked over at Blake and thought no one was watching. "That's something I wouldn't wish on anyone. In times like these, it's best to cling to friends, family, and your mate for support."

"She didn't pick me." The Omega drug a hand down her face, at once both weary of having to repeat herself so many times and still angry at the immutable truth of that fact. "No matter what I feel, it doesn't change that fact.  _She_  didn't pick  _me_."

"You're very certain of that for someone I suspect has never heard those words from her lips."

"Has  _she_  told you something different?" Yang raised a brow.

"Admittedly, no, but an Alpha knows these sorts of things."

"Yang." Her attention turned to Port, sitting quietly in the co-pilot's seat the whole while, and she half expected him to launch into some fanciful tale from his youth. It would be a nice change, considering he hadn't been very talkative since they'd regrouped. He looked like he hadn't been sleeping well, mustache bushier than usual and in need of grooming, and she could never really see his eyes but there definitely appeared to be darker bags under them than usual. "At least be able to face tomorrow. If it comes, and one or both of you aren't here, find a way to be at peace with that. In the end, that's what matters." Goodwitch reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, consoling him wordlessly. "I'm... I'm still waiting for tomorrow to come. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but it feels long overdue. Maybe I just don't want to face it yet..."

"Peter..." With a look, the Alpha asked for a bit of space, and Yang immediately stepped away to grant them that and couldn't help but feel grateful for it.

It hurt to see him like that. Even if they looked nothing alike, the heartbreak written on Port's face reminded her too much of her dad. He looked just like that when she was little and, while he'd gotten better at hiding it as the years went on, she could still catch the same look on his face from time to time. Most of all it just... reminded her that Port really didn't look like himself anymore, bereft of his usual bluff and bluster.

"Is everyone here?" Ruby marched into the room, papers in one hand and a marker in the other. "Yang?"

"Yeah, all present and accounted for."

"Good." Without really looking, she shoved the papers into the nearest person's chest- who just so happened to be Qrow- and stalked towards one side of the cockpit. "Pass those around and everyone, look at them. We've got a lot to go over." Uncapping the pen, she drew a little rectangle, maybe just a bit bigger than her hand, and them four circles in a square around it, but far away. "First thing, we're adopting a new policy. We're not keeping things secret anymore, no hiding of any sort. We're going to lay everything-  _everything-_ out in the open. Next, there's a symbol there with a picture of a Grimm bug. They aren't the sort we ran into at the training grounds; this is a variation with one specific function. To literally suck your very soul out of your body."

Nigel nervously, shaking his head. "I- I realize you just said 'literally', Champ, but please tell me-"

"I  _mean_  literally. It's why Oscar is still bedridden. Part of him and part of Oz got sucked out, and souls take  _a lot_  longer to heal than flesh and blood." She drew squiggly lines in a large arc around the previous drawings. "So, here's the second new rule: no one-  _no one_ \- goes anywhere alone. Those Grimm aren't very strong but you're essentially paralyzed once it gets on you. Nearest we can tell, they're rare, specifically manipulated by Salem, so we shouldn't be running into droves. Any questions?"

"Is Ozpin going to be alright?" Qrow had passed the papers off, brow furrowing as he leaned back against the bulkhead.

"Oh,  _he's_  fine, because  _Oscar_  took the brunt of the attack for him." She drew a cross in the lower right, with an arrow at the top and a 'N'- a compass. "But, as far as I know, none of  _us_  have someone riding shotgun in our heads, so that does the rest of us no good." Everyone shifted uncomfortably, throwing glances around as they paid more attention to the paper. "Great, now that we've got that out of the way, we're going to talk about the relics. There's a few more hoops we have to jump through; it's not just get them and unleash the power to stop Salem and the Grimm." She stepped back, pointing at her illustration. "There's also all  _this_."

In the silence that followed, Stryker cleared her throat. "Which... is... what, exactly?"

" _This_  is where Salem is. Her home base." Ruby took a step back and tapped a finger at the rectangle in the middle. "Right here. The circles are towers that act as conduits for the relics' power and they form a sort of buffer or barricade or...  _something_  that's kept Salem from physically leaving her little base of operations up to this point. Once the relics are placed at the bases on the tops of the towers, that barrier goes away, and Salem can leave."

"That... seems rather counterproductive to what we're attempting to accomplish." Goodwitch furrowed her brows.

"It is." The Beta nodded resolutely. "That's the way the array was designed; it's part of Ozpin's punishment for- whatever, it doesn't matter. Without all the pieces in play, the chances of succeeding don't outweigh the risks of failure. Last time... it was only by luck that Salem didn't manage to escape." For a moment, it looked like she might not continue, a sadness coming to silver eyes that almost pulled Yang to her sister's side, but it passed quickly as her determination returned. "Once we collect  _all_  the relics, we have to go here, and place them at the top of the towers.  _That_  will unlock the Brothers' powers." She tapped the glass again. "But unlocking the powers is just the start. If any relic gets disturbed, the array will fail, and while the relics will be able to repel Grimm on their own, they don't do much against people or projectiles. We'll need to divide up into teams to place  _and_  defend the relics while the remainder try to keep Salem and whoever else busy."

Nigel raised his hand, receiving a half lidded look from his team leader but shrugging it off as Ruby nodded at him. "How far away from each other are these towers?"

"About ten miles." She pointed at the squiggly lines next. "And these are the cliffs that surround the array's valley, but they're another five miles away, which means there's really no easy access to the towers without going through the area itself... which happens to be a Grimm breeding ground, like we've discussed."

"And here I was worried it wouldn't be challenging enough." Weiss puffed out a mirthless laugh, then gestured toward the drawing. "So, how do we attack this? Split into four teams and flip a coin over who has the longer sprint?"

Someone cleared their throat and Yang looked around, not being able to place the sound immediately, though she caught the smug little smirk on Stryker's face. "Go ahead, Wisteria."

"We need to attack from an angle." She pointed at the circles. "The array forms a square. If we aim to hit straight on any side, the four teams will have more ground to cover. But if we focus on one tower first, then we can establish a defensive position. The remaining three towers will be left, far, and right, at a comparatively shorter distance."

Jaune shifted, looking back at his teammates before speaking up. "How far would the 'far' tower be?"

"Approximately fourteen and a quarter miles from the defensive tower."

Stryker reached over and clapped her teammate's shoulder. "She's the brains of the team."

Jaune hummed, then turned his head. "Ren, do you think you can swing that?"

"Yes." He nodded at the Omega. "It won't be easy, by any stretch of the imagination, but I can keep us hidden. If we had a head start, we could almost be to the far tower by the time the defenses are set."

"Ren's semblance can hide him and others from the Grimm." Ruby quickly explained, tapping a finger against her chin and taking the marker up again, drawing an arrow by the lower left hand circle and a line just beyond before writing out Ren's, Nora's, and Jaune's names by the 'far' tower. "I'm not sure how effective it will be if my theory about the Grimm becoming more intelligent proves true, but the rest of us can act as a distraction anyway." She cast her gaze around, landing on the two Schnees. "Weiss and Winter, your glyphs can ferry the left and right teams to their towers quickly and over dangerous terrain. Plus, your summons can act as decoys and additional firepower." She added their names by the appropriate targets. "Blake and Professor Goodwitch, you'll be with Weiss on the left; Yang and Professor Port, with Winter on the right. The rest of us will form a defensive position in front of the near tower with the airship circling- Wisteria and Nigel, can you two handle providing air support?"

He flashed a smile and a thumbs up. "Absolutely."

Yang couldn't help the little bit of pride that sparked in her chest. Most of it came from how quickly and effectively her little sister made her decisions- sound, tactical ones, even with all the pressure on her shoulders. And, maybe, a little from elsewhere. Before, she might've cursed being paired with Winter but now... they worked well together. That had proven true still. It didn't seem like too much of a stretch that they could have each other's back in the final fight...

... and, maybe, that would be enough to prove that she had what it took.

"Okay. Hopefully, we'll pick up more allies as we go and that'll make it easier." An oval with lines off to the side- the airship. The drawing probably wouldn't impress any generals or war chiefs, but it looked like a pretty solid and flexible plan. Worry creased her brow before she barreled forward, the unspoken concern of what would happen if they  _lost_  anyone rippling across everyone and shoved aside just the same. They couldn't focus on that. "For now, we've got three teams with three people each. Everyone else will work on crowd controlling the Grimm and whoever else Salem throws at us. Once the relics are in place, it'll be up to me to use the Brothers' powers they release and turn it against Salem."

"So, what exactly does that mean?" Nora piped up, having drifted closer to Ren in the meantime. She'd always hid it well, beneath cheer and energy, but Yang had learned how to pick up on the subtle tells she possessed. The Beta had fear nipping at her heart and the Omega found it hard to blame her. "The Brothers' powers- what do they do, exactly?"

"That depends on who wields them. If Salem manages to take control of them, she'll use them to destroy Remnant and everything we hold dear." A pause. "Otherwise, they have to be seized by a silver eyed warrior, who can then turn the power to destroy the Grimm and weaken Salem."

Everyone exchanged curious glanced for a moment.

"What will it take to  _kill_  her?" Winter crossed her arms over her chest, a thousand thoughts flying through her head.

"Ozpin doesn't think she  _can_  be killed; they're like two sides of the same coin, both possessing some sort of 'immortality with a price' thing. Ozpin gets ferried into new bodies but Salem just...  _can't_  die. Not by normal means, anyway. The power of the silver eyes coupled with the relics, though, aren't 'normal means' by a long shot." Ruby paused to swallow, as if the words tasted like acid on her tongue. "Ozpin hasn't had the chance to actually  _try_  killing her in her new state yet but... he thinks it  _might_  work this time, put a true end to the cycle. We just won't know... until we know."

"Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's  _not_  exactly encouraging." Oswald admitted, lightly shoulder checked by his teammate.

"I know..." Her sister tried her hardest not to frown, not to duck her head or look away, but she could see it- the effort poured into staying strong. "The truth is, the relics are just... containers. They have the Brothers' powers inside of them, yeah, but those powers aren't inherent to the relics because... they're the auras and souls of everyone who's tried, and failed, to kill Salem before. Other silver eyed warriors. It's... people like  _me_  who have the Brothers' powers within us. The relics just collect it up when... our bodies are destroyed."

"Wait, stop." Yang raised her hands and shook her head, already starting to connect the dots. "Are you saying that whoever tries to use the powers inside the relics will  _die_  if they try killing Salem?"

"No." Her sister met her gaze, holding it for a moment too long before her gaze deviated. "But every person, every silver eyed warrior to try so far...  _has_  died. That doesn't mean-"

"Absolutely not."

"Yang-"

" _NO_." She snarled, ready to do whatever it took to talk some  _sense_  into her little sister and pulling against the hand on her shoulder. "You listen to me-"

" _Yang_." Her gaze snapped to the side, where blue eyes pinned her in place as Winter took firm hold of her jacket. "Hear her out."

"What if it was Weiss-"

"Then I'd listen!" The Alpha didn't break eye contact, and the look in her eyes and tightness in her shoulders spoke volumes to the veracity of her words. "I wouldn't like it, I might not agree, but I would at least  _listen_  first. Then, I'd find a way to talk my foolish sister out of her clear bout of insanity." She paused. "Theoretically speaking, of course."

"Winter's right," Weiss said, though she'd slipped her hand into Blake's at some point- a sure sign that she, too, didn't like where this conversation seemed to be going. "We need to hear everything.  _Then_ , we figure out a way around it. Just like with the base- we get all the information and form a plan of action from there."

"Yeah, look how  _that_  turned out." The Omega shook her head. "I  _don't_  like it-"

"Yang." She tried to pull away but Winter held firm, her voice taking on that edge- the commanding, authoritative, demanding one. "Listen first." Blue eyes never left hers and she hated how it  _did_  soothe her, calm the raging of her heart. "Ruby mentioned previous attempts. Let's start with what went wrong  _those_  times and we can go from there."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." The unease in Qrow's voice immediately set Yang on edge again, eyes flashing red as she looked at him. Not that he could meet her gaze, of course, and that probably told her more than she wanted to know.

"What happened?" Yang growled out, trying to take a step towards him and being held in place only by the hand firmly holding her jacket.

"It was before Ozpin decided the relics should be kept in the vaults, before he'd found Amber," Ruby said, once again commanding the room, though a shadow had fallen across her expression. "He didn't think they had enough people or power to make a good run at Salem... but the silver eyed warrior disagreed. She thought that striking early might given them the edge they needed. Ozpin... he didn't try to stop them when they left- the warrior, plus the Winter, Spring, and Summer Maidens. They tried and they  _did_  weaken her, but they didn't succeed in stopping her." Her shoulders fell as tears gathered in her eyes. "That's how Mom died, Yang.  _Mom_  was the last one who tried to fight Salem... and she died because of it."

She blinked, trying to process the information despite, on some level, knowing it before even hearing the words.

In her heart, it lurked, the absolute  _certainty_ that Summer died doing something heroic. Facing overwhelming odds, going on a mission far too dangerous for any sane person to pursue- it had to be something like that, because anything less just... didn't cut it. Couldn't  _possibly_  bring Mom down- she just... was too good for that.

But finally knowing what  _really_  happened...

"I hate to be the downer here," Stryker said, absent her usual amusement. "But... if three Maidens and a silver eyed warrior couldn't do it, what makes us think  _this_  time will turn out any different? Right now, at least Salem is controlled; if we make a go at this and fail, it's over for Remnant." She shrugged. "Maybe it's time to give up the fight for now."

"Hell no," Jaune replied, brows furrowing as he glared at the Alpha. "We can't just  _give up_ \- even if we returned the relics to the vaults, it's only a matter of time before Salem breaks out anyway; she tracked down one Maiden and had her powers stolen already, she'll do the same to the others if given enough time." He shook his head, touching the sash around his waist. "The Maidens might be powerful but we've got numbers and experience fighting them- we should strike as soon as possible, before Salem has the chance to bring any more people to her side."

"I'm with Jaune." Ruby grit her teeth, tilting her chin up defiantly. "This has happened  _far_  too many times in the past and the outcome's always the same. This time, we're doing things a bit differently. We're not going to have any Maidens on our side but, hopefully, Salem won't, either- aside from Cinder. And this-" She pointed at her drawing, with the names scribbled beside the circles. "This is something, too. Last time, Mom failed because someone managed to disrupt two of the towers, and she couldn't use the full strength in the relics. She got distracted. That fight  _still_  weakened Salem, though, enough that it took her over a decade to recover. It just didn't weaken her  _enough_."

Again, the Omega pulled against the grip holding her in place, a low whine building in her throat. "Sis-"

"Yang, I know you don't like this. I don't either."

"You  _just said_  without all the pieces in play, the risks are too great." The hand formerly holding her jacket shifted, gripping her by the bicep, and the contact worried her.  _Someone_  had to see that this was crazy, had to be on her side- they couldn't just  _let_  Ruby do this. "We don't have  _any_  Maidens and we don't know where half of them are!"

"I know it's not ideal, but according to Ozpin, the Maidens aren't the most important part; it's giving the silver eyed warrior time to take control of the relics' power. Most... fail before they can do that, and Mom only had half of the power available to begin with." She pointed again, emphatically. "That's why we've got a plan already. To protect the towers- the whole array depends on everything being in place. We might not have the raw power of the Maidens but we've got a plan."

Blake cocked a brow. "But, it's the power of silver eyed warriors- shouldn't Grimm be unable to get near them once they activate?"

"Grimm, sure, but people can get close, and Salem seems to have a never ending supply of helpers coming out of the woodwork." She began ticking them off. "There's Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald at least, plus Hazel, that doctor guy, and... Tyrion? Was that his name?"

"Oh, scorpion tail guy? Er, or formally." Qrow raised a brow. "You really think  _he_  would give us any trouble?"

"No, but he's expendable to Salem, so I wouldn't put it past her to throw him at us if she thinks it might work."

"Yang." She turned, looking up into Winter's eyes, noting the pinched worry in her brow but ignoring it for the moment.

"We can't do this- we  _can't_ \- Ruby, she's-" Her heart stuttered in her chest, her breathing rapid and uneven, a hand going up to her hair as she tried to get her thoughts into some semblance of order but they refused, pinging back and forth from what had to be Summer's final moments and Ruby charging headlong into the same.

"I know." A hand- gentle, caring- cupped her cheek, their voices low enough that they didn't interrupt the ongoing questions and answers being fielded by the others. "And she'll be fine. We'll make sure of it. From the sounds of it, the others were attacked while they were vulnerable, not because of the magnitude of the power they wielded." The look in her eyes sharpened. "We won't let that happen to Ruby. We'll whittle Salem down beforehand, we'll..." She paused, swallowing thickly. "We'll let Terry carry through with their plan first. We'll exhaust every option we have. We  _will not_  lose Ruby, too."

Her breathing started to slow even though the tempest in her heart continued to rage. "You can't say that-"

"I can," the Alpha replied, nodding resolutely. "In fact, I promise. I'll talk to Ozpin myself; there  _must_ be something he's missed the times before. Ruby won't die. I simply won't allow it."

It shouldn't work. Winter's voice, her certainty- it shouldn't be bringing her calm and peace like this. Yet, it did, and she threw her arms around the woman and pulled her close, held her tight. Solid, steady, tangible. "I can't lose her."

"You won't." The whispered words, set against her ear, sounded less like a promise and more like a statement of fact, as if the Alpha could peer into the future itself and reveal its secrets.

Right then, she  _needed_  something to believe in, something she could cling to, because she'd never been  _this_  scared.

"Yang?" Separating from Winter, lilac eyes landed on Ruby, who had her shoulders squared and chin tilted up- strong, proud, defiant to the last. "I... I know this is hard. But it's what we have to do. If you can't do this, then it might be better to go back to Patch. Be with Dad." Somehow, she stemmed the tears gathering in silver eyes. "I'm scared, too, so I don't blame you if you want to go but we don't have a lot of room for second guessing." She drew an unsteady breath. "Once we commit, it's all or nothing."

Stepping forward, she grabbed the Beta by the shoulders and pulled her into a bear hug, holding tight and squeezing her eyes shut against the tears. "I said I'd have your back, sis. I will  _always_  have your back." A sniffle. "But I'm scared out of my mind. So no half-assing this. If things get too bad, we pull back, regroup, and go at it again. Don't just- just throw it all away trying to be the hero on a slim chance. Okay?"

"Hey, I remember all those stories you read to me as a kid." Ruby gave a watery chuckle, returning the embrace. "Heroes only get happy endings when they're alive to see it." Her grip tightened. "Thank you. I honestly don't think we can do this without you. I love you, Yang."

"Love ya, too." She pulled back a little, swiping at her face and trying to steady her voice. "And I mean it, Rubes. We do this smart or not at all."

"Right." Her sister nodded, serious and trying to push back her tears of relief. "That's why we're covering all the angles. And that includes Terry." Stepping away, Ruby leveled a look at the Alpha. "Winter, have you figured out who would best be able to fight Terry one on one? Any thoughts about their team? Is there a chance they might not be against us when we attack Salem's base?"

"In reverse order: if we bide our time, Terry might carry through with their plan before we arrive, at which point I'd expect them and their team to no longer be a threat to us," she said, resolute as ever, and that still managed to soothe the roiling emotions tearing through Yang's chest as she returned to her spot beside the woman. "As far as the rest of ARRT, it's difficult to say. I only know the Rapid Response Team by reputation. The nature of their work meant a certain... discretion when Terry and I spoke." She crossed her arms over her chest, head bent as she searched her memory, eyes unseeing. "There's one that's a Grimm specialist- a licensed Huntress. She washed out of the Specialist program; a strong individual fighter but reckless without someone to watch her back."

"Semper." Yang provided, picturing the scowl and derision that came with meeting the Alpha on the base. "Her name's Semper- she's confrontational and she's constantly at one guy's throat. Uh... Aegean, I think?"

"Dal Semper and Aegean Forecastle- now I remember. He graduated from Atlas Academy by the skin of his teeth; General Ironwood almost had him removed for failing his combat competency exam. He only let Aegean stay because he proved very vital to boosting his team's morale." A grumbled sigh. "Terry chose them specifically to balance each other out. They'll likely operate as a unit. The long range specialist will likely work to provide them cover. I only know of him as 'Tri-M'; he apparently earned the nickname Mantle Mountain Man while in the Academy. He was selected for Specialist training but Terry recruited him before he could attend."

Immediately, she remembered the man who'd handed her the pill bottles during the storm; the same man she'd fought in the woods. "That's Rudy. I think he knows about Terry's plan, or at least part of it."

"Okay." Ruby nodded. "So, those four-"

"Wait, there's a fifth member to the team, though I don't know much about her aside from her specialization." Winter's brow furrowed for a moment. "A gifted pilot but noncombatant- her inclusion on the team sparked a lot of debate between Terry and the General. I remember  _that_  clearly."

"A pilot... okay, that's something." The Beta nodded, glancing at their plan. "We really can't attack as long as the ARRT remain on Salem's side, then; air support on top of everything else means we'll be killed before we get halfway to our goal. But we might run across them before that, so... thoughts on who should fight who?"

"Either yourself or Qrow should handle Rudy- preferably both. He's large, strong, and an excellent shot at range but, upon closing the distance, his effectiveness is greatly reduced. Semper and Forecastle..." She cast her gaze around. "Weiss and Blake- Semper mistook my summons for actual Grimm, there's a chance she can be distracted with that in the future. Regardless, I'm sure both of you can work together to either compromise one or split them up. Individually, I'm afraid they're pushovers. As for Terry..."

Yang squared her shoulders. Fighting the Commander would require everything she had in her, to be sure, but she could handle it. Just a small step towards getting back to where she  _used_  to be- the unstoppable force that couldn't be slowed down, not even getting punched by a Paladin could stop her. But beyond that, the woman's faith in her; it meant something. Not only to hold her own against an experienced soldier but to possess the deft touch that-

"Nora should be the one to face them," Winter said confidently even as the Omega's shoulders fell. "She's uniquely qualified for the fight and Yang's helped me devise a suitable training method to prepare her." The hand on her bicep squeezed lightly for some reason- and she didn't particularly care why, pulling away and crossing her arms over her chest, a furrow to her brow. "Terry's weaponry relies on yellow dust, using electricity to disrupt their opponent's ability to maneuver. Since Nora can absorb that, she will be best to counter them."

_Practical. Pragmatic._

Yang grit her teeth. She should've known that she never stood a chance. Nevermind that she could easily cover her right arm in rubber and use it as a shield- she would always be just  _that much_  less than the next person standing in line. Just...  _good_  but not good  _enough_.

 _Never_  good enough.

"Okay." Ruby nodded, writing the names out and off to the side. "We've got a plan, at least. The rest of us can run interference, keep our eyes peeled for any tricks. Hopefully, we will pick up more people after we've linked up with Team SSSN and make contact with Team CFVY to make the assault on Salem's base easier." She scanned across the group of them. "What we've got ahead of us is going to be the toughest fights of our lives, and it looks like things will just get worse the closer we get to our goal." Her gaze fell on Goodwitch. "How long until we reach Vacuo's shores?"

"Another day, at least," the Alpha replied.

"Good. So, everyone's got a decision to make." Silver eyes flashed. "If you don't think you can handle this, if the idea that we might try and fail and die for it scares you bad enough that you might falter when we need you most... you need to get off this airship when we reach Vacuo." She swallowed, hard, and Yang could see how much pressure weighed down her little sister, shoving aside her own frustration and pain to flash her a small smile and a thumbs up. "You know the odds now. You know what sort of threat we're facing. All that knowledge is in  _your_  hands, so ask yourself the hard question: can you do this? If the answer isn't yes, then we don't need you here. Because we're running out of places to go and people to trust. All we've really got is each other.  _No one_  can be the weak link." She shook her head. "We don't have that luxury anymore."

Everyone shifted in some way. Weiss, Blake, Port, and Goodwitch stood taller, determined, ready; Ren and Nora exchanged a look before nodding, the former putting a hand on Jaune's shoulder as he worried his lip; all of SNOW moved, Nigel clearing his throat and earning a sharp look from Stryker, Oswald fiddling with his weapon while Wisteria lightly poked his side; Qrow had his head bent in contemplation and she could guess where his train of thought led.

Yang, for her part, had already made the decision.

"Now... I guess... everyone can go back to what you were doing before." She shrugged, a little bit of her old self shining through as she reached up to run her finger through her hair- much longer than usual, almost to her shoulders now. "Just... keep that in mind and let me know your decision by tomorrow night. I'm going to go and try to contact Sun again."

"Sis." A nod. "You already know my answer."

"Ours as well," Weiss said, with a firm nod from Blake confirming it.

"Team RWBY to the end." The Faunus smiled. "Through thick and thin."

"Us, too." Jaune swallowed, hard, and then looked up with determination. "We started this together; we end it together."

"For Pyrrha," Nora said. "And Penny, too."

"And Doctor Oobleck." Ren added.

Port let out a low chuckle- mirthless and tinged with sadness instead. "Barty would never forgive me if I turned tail now. I'm in."

"Same." Goodwitch turned back to the console. "I'll inform you of any new developments."

"You can count on us, too." Stryker gestured to her team. "We might not be as close or have known you as long, but we won't run from this fight."

Ruby nodded while heading for the door. "Just let me know if anyone changes their mind."

Yang left hot on her sister's heels but turned away, down a different hallway, as soon as she could. She needed to be alone for a bit to vent the anger and hurt pride bubbling beneath her skin- not quite prickling but getting there.

"Yang." Winter's voice carried down the hallway but that just spurred her to move faster. "Yang! Yang, would you- we need to talk-"

"What do  _we_  need to talk about?" She called over her shoulder, descending the stairs to the lower deck. "Seems like everything's been decided."

"Yang, stop, let me explain!" A hand grabbed her left elbow and she spun instantly, throwing a halfhearted punch with her right that was caught.

This, she could handle- this manner of communicating seemed easiest, even if misleading. She was angry-  _pissed_ , actually- and if the snarl on her lips and red fire in her eyes didn't say that well enough, the way she pushed off certainly did it, sending the Alpha stumbling back. "Look, I get it.  _You_  made your decision."

"It's the  _right_  decision." Winter growled back, a little bit of frustration showing in her voice and the pinch to her brow. "Terry's weapons-"

"Oh, yeah, because it's not like I can cover  _this_." She clenched her right fist pointedly. "I could use it as a shield and-"

"And  _what_ , Yang?" Her voice raised as she threw her arms wide. "You'll block  _every_  blow? What if you miss one? It's not just a matter of being incapacitated for a moment, Yang; your anchor is  _metal_. It would conduce the electricity into your prosthetic, which houses a  _staggering_  amount of dust!" Blue eyes flashed with something before her shoulders dropped, reining herself in a bit. "I don't doubt you could face them, Yang, but the cost of one wrong move would be beyond what anyone is willing to pay. If that dust gets activated, it will  _at least_  destroy your arm and could possibly take your life."

"My semblance would eat it up before that happened." The defense sounded weak even to her ears but pride pushed her to try, to argue her point. "You're jumping to a worst case scenario that we could prevent-"

"Would you-" A strangled, rolling roar caught in the woman's throat, hands clenching into fists as she struggled to keep herself in check. She took a step forward- just one- and stopped herself, instead pacing side-to-side until she'd strung the words together. "Yang." The Alpha stopped, standing at her full height and leaving no room for argument in her voice. "I understand that we see each other  _very_  differently; you've made that abundantly clear and it won't change. I accept that. But I  _still_  care about you and I  _will not_  let you take such a reckless risk when there's a safer alternative." Her lips pressed into a tight, thin line. "Terry will not hold back and they  _will_  be out for blood. I  _refuse_  to offer up yours. If you want to continue training as a fallback measure, we can do that. But you  _shouldn't_  be the one to fight Terry. It's too dangerous."

Her pride ached as the desire to rip off the prosthetic rose, bile lingering in the back of her throat.  _Of course_  it would come back to this single shortcoming, this  _one_  flaw. It made her inadequate, a liability, a pathetic excuse...

She turned around and stormed down the hallway. "Just work with Nora. I'll spar with someone else."

The pain in her chest intensified after she turned the corner, but she managed to make it down to the mess hall before stopping and leaning against a wall, putting a hand over her heart as the words reverberated in her skull.

_I understand that we see each other very differently._

She really never stood a chance, did she? Not as a mate or even an equal in combat- why  _why_  did she ever think otherwise?

Maybe she  _should_  get off at Vacuo, take herself out of the equation.

_And let Ruby do this on her own? Turn your back on your team, your friends, your family?_

Gritting her teeth, she leaned her head back and hit her left fist against the wall.

No, she'd already spent enough time hiding and licking her wounds. She needed to  _stop_  being the weak link and start  _acting_  like Yang Xiao Long.

"This isn't me." She shook her head. Getting hung up, taking things personal- some part of her  _knew_  Winter had a point.

It would be dangerous even  _without_  her prosthetic; Ember Celica were made of metal, too, and there wasn't a buffer on them that would prevent a jolt of electricity from potentially misfiring her shotgun shells, especially the ones on her belt. Nora, at least, had designed Magnhild with her semblance in mind, made it so the grenades were protected while the rest of the hammer helped her channel the electricity directed her way. It  _did_  make sense.

But it still hurt.

"Oh." She turned her head to see Stryker entering the mess. "Hey, didn't see you there. I, uh, was just checking what's for dinner."

Lilac eyes glanced over towards the kitchen, to the boxes set on the counter in preparation for Ren, who seemed to have appointed himself their resident chef. "Beef ramen."

"Eh, better than casserole."

As the Alpha turned to leave, Yang made a snap decision. She needed something to put her world right again, or at least distance herself from the memories constantly needling at her heart. She needed a change, a fresh start.

"Hey, Stryker." She waited until she had the woman's full attention. "Your offer, no strings attached... that still open?"

The smirk that answered her didn't exactly set her at ease. "Yeah, of course."

"When and where?" Yang could hear a little voice chiding her, telling her hopping into bed with the first available Alpha would only spell disaster, but she'd had flings before. She just... needed something to relieve the pressure, the stress- something that didn't end in rejection.

"Come on." Stryker jerked her head. "We'll go to my room."

Pushing off the wall, the Omega followed, shoving down all the little doubts that this would work. She'd done this before- had sex, blown off steam, it didn't mean anything- and she absolutely needed a fresh starting point. Something to lock everything else behind.

This seemed as good as any.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all. Remember that "bad decisions" tag on this fic? Next chapter is why that tag's there. Trust me; Yang's about to come to some realizations.


	12. Last Straw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so here's where everyone hates Stryker and I'm probably going to lose some of y'all. This is going to be the hardest chapter in terms of Yang's headspace and her lowest point in the fic but that means it's mostly uphill from here. If you'd like to skip the bit at the beginning, CTRL + F "That was pretty good." and you'll be at the part where Yang leaves Stryker's quarters. Also, big thanks to Roman for helping me out with some aspects of this chapter. Greatly appreciate it, bud.

Yang stepped into the quarters, casting a look around. For a soldier, Stryker kept everything disorganized, thrown everywhere, and even if the Omega wasn't the neatest person in the world, the clutter kinda rubbed her the wrong way. But, at least the space looked lived in, so it probably brought some comfort to the occupant. After spending the better part of a year or so running across continents, she could appreciate a place that looked like it could be called home.

"Start making yourself comfortable," the Alpha said, reaching up to start unbuttoning her uniform. "And lose the arm."

Yang's jaw tightened, looking down at her prosthetic. She probably should've expected that, honestly, but it had somehow caught her by surprise anyway. Still, she began complying, taking off her jacket first and setting aside her scarf. She unbuttoned her pants and pushed them down to her hips, unzipped her boots- the rest she could get off with one hand- and then deactivated the anchor, separating the prosthetic. It made a dull  _clunk_  as she set it down atop the dresser, knowing well enough that she'd be wanting to reattach it as soon as possible if they somehow got interrupted. "You have a condom, right?"

"Aw, gotta take the fun outta it, huh?" Stryker chuckled, the crinkling of plastic accompanying her words. "Yeah, right here. I'm always prepared but I snagged a few more while we were on the base, so don't worry." She could  _hear_  the smug grin on the woman's lips. "Plenty of repeat performances are in  _your_  future."

For a moment, the Omega considered that this was a mistake. They weren't a good match- everything Stryker did managed to rub her the wrong way- but this wasn't about compatibility. This was about rewriting memories and letting off steam, putting the experience with Winter behind her and burying it under everything else. All she had to do was let physical gratification make up for the lack of chemistry.

But she should've known it wouldn't be that simple.

A pounding at the door preceded Oswald calling through it. "Hey, boss, it's almost time for our turn on deck."

Stryker muttered a curse, throwing her jacket back on and heading for the door. Yang hardly had time to get out of sight before it opened, just enough for the Alpha to glare at her teammate. "Go grab Nigel or Wisteria. I'm busy right now; tell whoever takes my place that I'll cover their next shift."

"But-"

"Just do me this solid, alright?"

The Omega ran a hand through her hair. She could still back out- go to her room, shut herself in...

... play the game Winter had given her while wrapped up in the blanket with their combined scents feebly clinging to it...

No. She'd let this whole mess go on long enough. After she finished up here, she'd throw the blanket out herself. A fresh start, bereft of the little things that continued to haunt her.

"Fine. But  _you_  have to deal with Wisteria if I can't convince Nigel to take it."

As the door closed, Stryker cringed. "Shit, I do  _not_  want to do that." Tapping a finger against the door, black eyes darted towards her. "We're gonna have to make this quick and dirty."

"You're scared of Wisteria?" Yang quirked a brow. "The quiet one?"

"Oh, she's quiet, but when she's mad..." The Alpha shuddered, then waved a hand. "Let's just say, I'll take a pack of Ursa any day over  _that_. So, c'mon, kneel on the bed. We got time for a quickie."

"Seriously?"

"Look, you wanna do this or not?"

Again, she thought about walking away. Two years ago, she would have.

But two years ago, she didn't have a black cloud following her every step, laying across her shoulders like a shawl of agony. She  _needed_  it gone, whatever the cost.

"Whatever," she replied, not bothering with her bra or even taking her pants off all the way. She just kicked off her boots and shoved everything else down to her knees after getting on the bed, using her left arm to support her weight. "Hurry up."

"Oh,  _now_  you're in a rush." Weight shifted the mattress behind her as Stryker got in position, one hand grabbing her hip to hold her steady while buttons and belts clinked. "I'll admit, I've never been with an Omega like you."

"Sounds like a personal failing." Yang shot back, though her annoyance spiked the next moment when the Alpha pushed into her roughly. "Hey!"

"What now?"

"A little warning would be nice!" Growling, she shot a look back over her shoulder, eyes smoldering red for a brief moment. "You could show a little consideration."

"What part of 'quick and dirty' did you miss?"

Closing her eyes, she fought the impulse to throw a punch. "Just- ease into it, would ya?"

"Fine, fine." Stryker pulled out a little, using short, slow thrusts to start coaxing out a little wetness. "But you might have to help me out here."

With a groan, Yang lowered herself to the bed, resting her weight on her chest so she could reach down with her left hand and nudge her clit. It didn't do much. A little bit more stimulation, sure, but she couldn't seem to follow the Alpha's rhythm. Even trying to push back and establish one didn't seem to sway the woman, apparently focused entirely on her own pleasure- which  _she,_ at least, seemed to be getting, a few muttered curses falling from her lips. As far as the Omega was concerned, it just felt like a particularly jerky mechanical bull- some decent force, but little else.

At this rate, she doubted she could even get off.

She tried focusing on something- a mental image, something to excite her a bit more, to really kick start her libido, seeing as simply having an Alpha hump her didn't seem to be doing the trick. A few magazines came to mind but none of them appealed to her in the moment, so she tried thinking back on some... other aides she'd used over the years when she'd found herself possessed of the urge. Fantasies she indulged in when the mood struck her, a vaguely defined partner, one who could take her roughly and still deliver a staggering amount of pleasure- and that's when she made the next mistake on an ever growing list.

Because, this time, she didn't give herself the benefit of anonymity, instead putting a face and physique to the figure in her mind. Not Stryker, of course, but Winter- and though she immediately realized she should stop, a gasp burst from her lips as a shock of want tore through her. The rutting didn't feel anything like when she'd slept with Winter but that didn't seem to matter, heat burning through her body as the off beat motions managed to stoke the fire of her libido into an inferno.

Dimly, she could hear Stryker talking, apparently thinking herself the cause of her sudden surge of pleasure. Yang couldn't hear the words, though, as her fantasy took control, and the voice in her head that sounded like Winter's spoke an unbroken string of promises. Ones of desire and passion and the sweetest agony as the thrusting increased, and she touched herself more fervently, trying to keep pace with the scene playing out in her mind.

_Is this what you want? Me, taking you rough as I please?_

She whined, biting down onto the blanket in lieu of something else to stifle the words she wanted to say in response.

Despite  _knowing_  it was a bad idea, she let the fantasy continue to make the whole thing enjoyable, losing herself to the perfection only her imagination could conjure.

But the moment she climaxed- with Stryker groaning and shuddering behind her, member pulsating within her- the guilt came crashing down like a tidal wave on a beach.

"That was pretty good." The woman behind her chuckled, showing at least a little care in pulling out. "Did it scratch the itch for ya?"

"Yeah," she replied halfheartedly, already pushing herself up so she could reattached her prosthetic. The only coherent thought ricocheting through her head at the moment was 'get  _out_ ' and she planned to do just that, hurriedly dressing herself and ignoring the way the Alpha stretched out, obviously intent on enjoying her post orgasmic glow.

"What's the rush? If you hang around a while, maybe I can-"

Yang paused in pulling on her boots. "I told Ruby I'd help her with something and you have a teammate to not piss off."

"Well, I  _meant_  you could wait around for my shift to end." With a sigh, she got up, running a hand over her face. "But, I should probably get going."

Not wanting to spend any longer in the woman's presence, she finished dressing and quickly headed for the door. The sooner she could get back to her room, the quicker she could try to forget whatever the hell  _that_  was-  _why_  did she think that would work? Of all the stupid, impulsive decisions she'd made, this one  _somehow_  ranked number one. She couldn't blame her heat or a pressing danger for a split second decision; this one, she had nothing but herself to blame.

The worst part- among a  _lot_  of terrible things- was the sensation crawling just beneath her skin, how it made her feel disgusted with herself. Seeking sex from someone she didn't have any interest in was one thing but fantasizing about someone who'd rejected her on top of it...

Of all the stupid, low down, dirty things she'd done, this one took the cake. She'd made her mistakes, sure, she'd been dumb and ignorant and hadn't taken things seriously when she should've, but this? She had no excuse. She was just swinging blind, hoping to hit one something that would magically  _fix_  her, but she couldn't  _be_  fixed. She was just-

"Unf!" So lost in her own head, she couldn't stop in time as she turned a corner and ran into someone- which, frankly, on a ship this big with so few people on it, she really couldn't be faulted for that, at least. "Uh sorry-"

"It's alright." Of all the people, in all of Remnant, she'd just run into the  _last_  person she wanted to see right then. She had to watch as Winter looked her over, nostrils flaring briefly before her expression solidified into one of stoic indifference, all the while wishing she could be just about anywhere else.

"Looking for someone, Specialist?" Stryker came up behind her, a certain amount of smugness in her tone that Yang absolutely hated to hear, and the woman tried to put a hand on the Omega's shoulder than she immediately brushed off.

"I came to inform you that we intercepted a message for the Atlesian military." Her jaw tightened, eyes like diamonds as Winter ignored Yang in favor of relaying the information. "General Ironwood, as well as the rest of his command staff, was killed a few hours ago in a coordinated assault by unknown actors. All military personnel are being put on high alert and the Academy is being closed until further notice." She swallowed hard. "Commander Cotta is acting as interim General of the Atlas military. For the time being, it's safe to consider Atlas lost to us. Inform your team."

"Uh. Yeah. Okay." Stryker blinked, obviously caught off guard. "Wait- what does this mean? Like, for the mission-"

"Be prepared to fight your former classmates." Winter's expression turned sour. "I would not be surprised if Terry uses the might of Atlas' army to further their ends. Let's hope they only utilize the Knights and Paladins."

Then, she turned, apparently finished with her task, and her gaze briefly landed on Yang.

Something flashed in her eyes then, hidden away too quick for her to catch, but it made the guilt and disgust multiply tenfold.

"Geez." Running a hand through her hair, the Alpha sighed. "Guess I gotta tell the others. This is... gonna be tough. I'll see ya around, Yang."

Unable to articulate anything right then, she merely grunted. Left alone in the hallway with just her thoughts, she felt frozen, but they were murky, disjointed things. Finally, she put her face in her hands and dropped down to her knees.

What the  _hell_  had she done? Some rational part of her mind laid it all out- she'd taken Stryker up on her offer of no-strings-attached sex, which didn't even  _begin_  to satisfy her, and rather than try to stop it there, she'd allowed herself to fantasize about a partner  _who rejected her_  instead, the very same Alpha she quite nearly  _bowled over_  a few short minutes after leaving Stryker's room- but that explained virtually  _nothing_. It didn't explain the guilt, because she  _shouldn't_  feel guilty. The whole  _point_  of the arrangement was that they didn't expect anything from each other, so it wasn't like she'd hurt the Alpha's feelings if she admitted she was thinking about someone else the whole while.

But she knew-  _knew_ , with a sickening amount of certainty- that what caused the awful feeling creeping beneath her skin was the irrational certainty that she'd cheated and betrayed a bond. It didn't matter, apparently, that Winter rejected her;  _she'd_  chosen the Alpha as her mate. To be with someone else without first severing that tie...

Suddenly, bile rose in the back of her throat and she coughed, bending over and setting her hands on the floor as she began to shake.

It took a few minutes for her to recover and regain her feet. When she did, Yang started moving, though she couldn't be certain of her destination. All she consciously understood was that she was following something- a scent. One that belonged to a specific Alpha as a reasoning formed in her mind. She needed to... not apologize. Yes, what she did was a mistake, but she didn't owe  _Winter_  an explanation. Not that she had one at present but still, that wasn't the point. No, she needed to... get something. Confirmation. It would hurt, it would be even more painful than the moment she realized her mark wasn't returned, purely because it would be compounding the agony, but apparently, she needed that. Yang needed to hear the words 'I don't want you' or she'd just... keep feeling like this.

The Omega stopped dead in her tracks when someone else's voice pulled her from the thoughts swirling inside her head.

"I know it's not much but... here. It helps."

Her brow furrowed as she quietly approached the doorway heading into the mess hall, pausing when confronted with the sight of Winter and Uncle Qrow sitting side-by-side at one of the tables, his flask being offered in one hand. The Alpha regarded it with revulsion for all of a moment before accepting it, unscrewing the cap, and tilting her head back to pour some of the liquid into her mouth. When she swallowed, her expression soured, and she coughed... but she didn't give him the flask back, taking another shot and suffering much the same reaction. After the third, she shoved the flask back into his chest as her coughing devolved into... sobbing. Winter was obviously trying to fight it, trying to hold back the tears, but they slipped out anyway as her chest heaved, other hand curling into a fist that she beat against the table.

Yang's heart broke watching her, tears of sympathy welling in her eyes.

Awkwardly, Uncle Qrow reached out and pat her shoulder, and for once she didn't bother trying to push him away or snap at him- the Alpha barely even reacted to his presence, consumed by her grief as the hand no longer holding the flask carded through her hair. She curled in on herself, as if physically crushed by her agony.

Taking a step forward, she tried to go to Winter and provide some comfort- it was simply in her nature- but her Uncle's eyes snapped her way and he shook his head, nodding for her to leave.

Silently, the Omega tried to plead her case, ultimately realizing she didn't have a right to be there and quietly left. She made it a few steps down the hall before stopping and sighing, gritting her teeth. Just leaving Winter there, her only comfort a man she argued with at almost every turn- someone who'd been rather vocal in his dislike for her late superior officer...

Yang continued down the hallway, a single purpose in mind. Perhaps she wasn't the person best fit to give comfort but she knew someone who  _could_.

* * *

A few minutes later, she was standing in front of the door to Blake's quarters. By scent, she could tell the Alpha was within, likely comforting her mate as they processed all the information from the meeting, and some part of her felt a little bad for interrupting their time together. However, she felt certain Weiss would prioritize her sister's well being if she heard the full situation and decided it would be worth the momentary ass chewing until she could explain that. Knocking on the door, she waited and considered how to word her request while waiting for the door to open.

"Yang?" As she expected, the Alpha answered, eyes flicking over her briefly as she no doubt caught the faint scent of sex. "What's-"

"It's Winter," the Omega said, not wanting to deal with  _that_  at the moment. "We intercepted word that General Ironwood was assassinated. She's taking it hard."

Blue eyes flicked back towards the room as she bit her lip. "Where is she?"

"In the Mess Hall with Qrow."

"Damnit." Weiss nodded. "Can you stay with her until I get back?"

"Sure," she replied, stepping past the Alpha. "You might wanna... find some paper towels or something."

For a moment, Weiss just looked at her in utter bewilderment before understanding dawned. "She's  _crying_?"

"Yeah."

Blinking rapidly, she shook her head as if to clear it. "I've... never seen her cry before." Then, she nodded. "Thank you for telling me. I'll be back when I know she's okay."

"Thanks." Yang entered the room, the door sliding closed behind her, and found Blake sitting on the bed. The cant of her ears indicated she'd heard the conversation at the door so she didn't bother explaining herself, instead just heading over and sitting beside her partner. "You doing okay? With... what we learned I mean. And the plan."

For a moment, the Faunus watched her before sighing. "I'm still processing it. On top of everything else we've been through, this... it's a lot."

"No kidding." Her gaze went to the door. "How's she taking it?"

"She's trying to be strong but she's scared. We all are." Her ears flicked back, brows pinching together slightly. "But I think she's focusing on the bright side. That this is not only a fight we  _can_  win but one we  _must_. Focusing on a goal has always calmed her nerves." When amber eyes fell on her, she almost bolted. "So, are we going to talk about why you smell like shame and regret?"

With a sigh, she looked down as her shoulders fell. "I made a dumb mistake.  _Really_  dumb."

"What kind of mistake?" At her curious look, Blake shrugged. "It's hard to discern anything aside from your emotions right now."

"I slept with Stryker," she said, not having the heart to look up and face her partner's expression, though she did feel how the Faunus stiffened. "Told you it was dumb."

"Yang... that's... okay..."

"What part of it is  _okay_?" She growled, glaring at the floor.

"I mean- look, you caught me off guard, I don't mean it's  _okay_  that you... did that." Blake sighed, a combination of frustration and something else- likely confusion. "I'm just-  _why_?"

"I..." Searching for words, her expression twisted as tears began to sting at her eyes again. "I thought it would help."

"Help  _what_?"

"I don't know!" Emotions warred inside of her but the part of her that  _needed_  someone to confide in, that needed the support of her partner just like when they were mere students with big, far off dreams, that's the side that won out in the end. She put her face in her hands and hunched over, trying to articulate her thought process while fighting back tears. "I just- I  _had_  to, to try and, I dunno, rewrite my brain. She's still with me, she's there, but she doesn't  _want_  me and I can't- I'm broken and- I needed to fix it. Fix  _me_. Get her out of my head, my lungs, but all it did was make me... think about her  _more_. I just... I was  _so stupid._ "

Blake put an arm around her shoulders and lightly pulled her into a hug, knowing from experience that trying to force her would merely make her push everything down. "You're not broken, Yang. There's nothing  _to_  fix."

"Yes, there is." She murmured, sniffling and scrubbing away unshed tears, which just made them spill over her cheeks. "I used to be the strong one. Dependable. But now-"

"You're  _still_  the dependable one, the one who's carried us this far." The Faunus reached over and grabbed her hand- the prosthetic one- and gave it a light squeeze, a means of providing comfort that just... didn't click in the moment. Normally, she'd be grateful her friend would treat the appendage no differently from her flesh and blood but, at present, the lack of sensation felt like a dagger in her heart. "Winter believed that you could get us into the base and she was  _right_  and  _you_  were the one who figured out where the relic was. You're smart and strong and I don't know where we'd be without you... but I know it hurt you that Winter suggested Nora should fight Terry. You have to see that it's not a reflection of your abilities-"

"I  _know_  that." Yang looked up, anger coloring her tone. "I've already worked it out- Nora's the  _right_  person to counter Terry, she's the one who can negate their weapons,  _she's_  the better choice-" The words caught in her throat as her gaze fell again. "I get it... but I just wish... I just want her to pick  _me_  for...  _something_. I want to be the better choice for once." She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. "And I know she has... just... not for the things that  _matter_."

Then, it seemed to dawn on Blake what, exactly, had dug under her skin. "Right. Terry's defection hurts Winter, so you want to be the one to help protect her, but-"

"But I'm just not good enough." The words came out with a choked sob as she tried to curl in on herself but her partner wouldn't allow it.

"That's  _not_  what I was going to say." Turning her head, their gazes met and she could see the sincerity reflecting in amber eyes even as her ears flicked back. "Winter's trying to protect  _you_ , too. You heard the way Winter talked about them; she genuinely believes we could be killed by Terry and she doesn't want that. She made the decision for the best outcome, which is all of us surviving."

Yang sighed, shrugging helplessly and scrubbing at her face. "I just wish..."

"Look, if you're convinced there's nothing there, I won't try to convince you otherwise, but she  _does_  care. Ruby, Weiss, me- we care, too, and it's tearing us all up watching you beat yourself down over this." She offered a small smile. "Maybe what you want isn't entirely out of reach; maybe this just isn't the right time to be looking at that sort of stuff." Her expression faltered. "I- I know that makes me sound like a bit of a hypocrite but-"

"No," she said, shaking her head slightly. Despite all the noise in her head, all the pain and self inflicted turmoil, she could recognize when her friend wasn't being fair to herself. "You and Weiss, you're on the same page. It's different. You  _both_  want the same thing. That's what... what matters." As the words left her mouth, it dawned on her that she and Winter wanted the same thing, too: an end to Salem and the death and destruction she wove. It wasn't the  _thing_  she would've hoped for but, ultimately, it was the most important thing for them to be on the same page about. "Maybe that's what I've been missing."

"As in, you need to talk-"

Again, she shook her head, but with more certainty this time. "We've talked all we need to. We... got into an argument after the meeting." A wince. "Well, not really an argument... just... confirming that we don't see each other the same and me being mad about it. I... I love her but..."

She trailed off, realizing something for the first time.

It hurt. Putting it into words, out loud, for someone else to hear, but she wasn't doing it for Blake's sake.

She was doing it for  _hers_.

In the end,  _she_  needed to acknowledge it, to process it- she didn't just want Winter to return her mark out of wounded pride. She genuinely loved the Alpha, her quiet strength, her poise, and the depths of her dedication, she loved every part of it. Even when her brows pinched in annoyance or something had gotten the better of her. Every. Little. Part.

But Winter didn't love her- not like that, anyway. As a friend, as a comrade, sure, but not as a potential mate. Perhaps it  _did_  have something to do with her faults but maybe... maybe that didn't have anything to do with it at all. Maybe they just... weren't meant to be.

Maybe... she just had to let it all go.

Carefully, the Faunus rubbed her back, offering what comfort she could. "Yang..."

"She doesn't love me... at least... not the way I love her." Putting it into words helped. She'd kept it all locked in her heart but that hadn't done her any favors. But Winter cared; she'd said as much. That... counted for something. "We both want Salem dead, though. That- we're on the same page when it comes to that. So,  _that's_  what I need to focus on. Just... making sure we make it that far."

Yang turned her head, catching the sadness in her partner's eyes.

"Will you make me a promise?" She raised a brow in askance. "When we've reached the end of this- when we're standing victorious after destroying Salem... will you sit down and have a conversation with Winter?" The Omega quite nearly pulled away but Blake's expression shifted just enough to discourage her, her tone coming out slightly more stern. "Right now, there's a lot of things on your mind, on everyone's, but I've got eyes, Yang. I know what I saw, and what I saw, what I  _still_  see, is that there's something between you two, something you  _haven't_  discussed. It's there, and when this is all over, you're going to find out what it is." Then, she softened, as always. "For me?"

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she nodded. "Fine. I promise." Swiping at her face, her gaze deviated for a moment. It still hurt, a resonating ache deep in her chest, but that seemed to be... not fading but becoming more tolerable. Less noticeable. Like the pinch in her anchor- just another pain that would eventually fade into the monotony of her life. "You have to make me a promise, too."

Blake's ears perked, obviously not expecting a reciprocal request. "About what?"

"Promise me that, when you and Weiss start cranking out kids, I get to be the godmother." Her lips tugged into a small smile. "After all this is done, I'd like something  _good_  to look forward to, ya know?"

To her surprise, the Faunus chuckled. "Done. You might be sharing the title but you're definitely going to hold it." Her expression turned wistful. "You might even be thankful for the help."

Despite the pain, she found herself genuinely hopeful. All this time, she'd held onto an image of herself, of who she  _used_  to be. She couldn't be that person any longer... and perhaps it was time she stopped trying to be.

She had to reforge herself, find a new space to occupy. She might never find a mate or have children of her own but she could still help take care of them- and to get to that point, they first had to win a future, one free of Salem's threat. While their goal had weighed heavily on her mind since she met up with the others and got caught up on everything that happened while she'd remained in Patch, it lingered in the background- a consideration, yes, but not the most pressing concern as they jumped hurdle after hurdle.

That might be how she got so off track in the first place.

* * *

Yang couldn't be certain of anything when Weiss returned. The Alpha remained mostly silent, merely offering huffs or clipped one word responses to any question posed and she quickly picked up on the feeling that her presence was no longer welcomed- at least for the moment. It wasn't anger, that much she could discern, but a certain level of frustration. No doubt trying to comfort her sister had drained Weiss, as the very mention of General Ironwood had her expression screwing up, several emotions flashing through her eyes as she grit her teeth. Whatever they'd discussed, it was  _deeply_  personal and she wisely didn't press any further.

She thought about heading down to do more training but opted against it, purely because it would do her no good at present. Her talk with Blake had laid some things out in the open, things she'd been reluctant to address. Now, she had no choice, really. She  _had_  to face it, head on.

Which meant going back to her quarters and grabbing the blanket- the one that still had the faint traces of her heat clinging to the fabric, that she'd kept close every time she entered the privacy of her room. In a moment of weakness, she almost set it around her shoulders but... no. She couldn't. The time for indulging in her own anguish, that was over. Their enemies were too strong, the price of failure too high- the Yang Xiao Long she used to be wouldn't be able to match it, too inexperienced, too impulsive, too reckless. She had to be stronger than that.

Out of all the mistakes she'd made in the past few hours, though, this remained the one  _good_  idea she'd had. It  _was_  high time she relinquished her hold on the memory, on the false hope. Let it go because it could do her no good to hold onto it, keep it close, just so it could hurt her again and again.

Marching with a resolve forged from the pain and realizations born of the past few hours, she went down to the loading bay, all the way to the drop door and hit the intercom.

"Go ahead?" Oswald sounded slightly surprised by the call but she didn't concern herself with that.

"Hey, it's Yang. I'm opening the door."

"Uh, can I ask why?"

Lilac eyes fell to the blanket clenched in her fist. "Throwing out some trash."

"... when you say 'trash', you don't mean- oh, nevermind, she just came back. Carry on."

Rolling her eyes, she killed the intercom and hit the door's open button, bracing herself against the drag. Below, Atlas' scenery had given way to the sprawling expanse of the ocean separating the kingdoms. She looked down at the blanket for a long moment before opening her hand, allowing it to slip from her fingers. Caught by the wind, it ripped away, fluttering down until it was an unseen speck among the waves.

Heaving a deep sigh, Yang sat down on the door's edge, pulling her knees up to her chest. Some part of her felt hollow now, with the pain from before lapsing into melancholy. Her unrequited feelings didn't matter in the grand scheme of things and had only served to put even more strain on those she cared about most. But letting them go would take more time than ridding herself of reminders. Even now, thinking of the smile Winter had given her just that morning... it put an ache in her chest. Who knew how long it would take for  _that_  to go away.

"Heavy thoughts?"

She turned her head, surprised to find Ren with Nora nowhere in sight. The two were usually inseparable under most circumstances. "You could say that." He nodded, sitting beside her, crossing his legs and looking out at the ocean below silently. "Are... you going to try talking some sense into me, too? 'Cause you're a little late on that front."

"No. I don't think you need anyone else talking to you right now." Folding his hands in his lap he breathed in deeply and let it out slow. "I'm here to listen or keep you company, whichever is more helpful in the moment. If you'd rather, I can leave."

Yang felt her lips curl slightly. They weren't as close, purely because classes and training and the like kept both teams pretty busy and she didn't have Ruby's benefit of over half a year traveling together. Still, they'd gotten on rather well during the rare chances they could hang out and it felt refreshing to have someone else around. "Thanks. I could use some company."

"Very well."

Yang let her mind wander over everything that had happened and all the things that lay before them. Going to Beacon, finding out Ruby would be there with her, getting partnered up with Blake and put on the same team as her sister and Weiss, then living together and learning as a team. The Vytal Festival. Her match against Mercury. Being put under house arrest and learning about Cinder's machinations from a frantic phone call. Diving into the fight against Adam, the spectre that still haunted her nightmares. Waking up to find her arm and her friends gone, some for good. Moping around her childhood home while her sister ran off to save the world.  _Finally_  snapping out of it and tracking down Raven, her absent birth mother, to gain just a  _little_  bit of the closure she'd always been denied. Finding Weiss in that bandit camp, then Ruby, then Blake. Confrontations meant to mark the end of chapters in her life, one after another- Cinder, Raven, then Adam. Meeting Winter. The reappearance of her sex drive at a  _really_  inopportune time.

The past, hell, almost three years by now... 'busy' didn't begin to cover it.  _So_  much had changed- some of it forever- and she'd been powerless to stop most of it. Now, they had even  _more_  hurdles awaiting them. Battles that could very well decide the fate of Remnant. The end of everything if they failed.

Growing up, she read Ruby fairytales about such exploits, impossible odds and insurmountable challenges beaten by intrepid heroes. Unlike her sister, though, she never harbored the desire to live one out herself. Yet, here she stood, walking a path so like those old stories.

"I never really noticed," Ren said, pulling her attention towards him. "Waves seem so high from the shore but, up here, they look so much smaller."

Her gaze fell to the waves below, remembering her time growing up on the little island of Patch and visiting the beach whenever she could. Back then, the whole world seemed too big, and she wanted to see it all. Just... not like this. "Yeah. Never thought about it like that."

At least she wasn't alone.

They sat side-by-side for a while, maybe an hour. Eventually, Nora joined them, and then Jaune some time later. Though he made no motion, somehow Ren's teammates intuitively understood that conversation wouldn't be necessary or welcomed at the moment and the four of them just watched as the ocean passed far below. Eventually, she looked over and saw how Ren and Nora moved closer together, and...

It hurt, just a little. But then she thought of all the advice everyone had given her and one particular line stuck out suddenly.

"Hey, has anyone talked to Goodwitch?"

Jaune raised a brow. "About what?"

She remained silent for a moment, unsure if the Alpha would appreciate her answering that truthfully. "Just... I remembered something she said earlier. I'll go talk to her about it."

"Alright." Her brow furrowed slightly. "You gonna be okay, Yang?"

"One day," she replied, giving him a small smile as she got to her feet. "Close up when you're done, alright?"

Nora gave her a wave. "See ya later, alligator!"

A couple hours ago, she might've been a bit rude in responding. Even now, a tiny twinge of jealousy nipped at her heart, but she pushed it side. "After a while, crocodile."

Heading back into the ship, she wound her way up to where their former teachers claimed quarters for themselves, at first a bit hesitant to knock on the wrong door. Port obviously felt awful and likely leaned on Goodwitch for support; with Ironwood dead, she'd likely be reeling as well. However, the scent stinging her nose led her in the proper direction and she pounded her fist against the metal. She couldn't be sure what she'd  _say_ \- how did one even go about addressing the topic, really- but she refused to sit quietly while someone suffered.

They sure as hell hadn't given  _her_  any peace, so it only seemed fair to return the favor.

"Yang?" The woman answered the door with confusion coloring her tone. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm... actually here to ask you about that." She frowned slightly, rubbing at her arm. "I... heard about the General."

For a moment, her expression faltered and pain flashed in her eyes. Then, it was swept under a look of steely resolve as her shoulders straightened and she drew herself to her full height. "I appreciate your concern but he isn't dead." She turned her head slightly, looking somewhere far beyond the airship surrounding them. "I know the man better than anyone else; I would  _know_  if he was truly gone." When their eyes met, her posture relaxed slightly. "It probably sounds like denial... and it's occurred to me that I could be wrong. But until I see the proof for myself, I will continue to believe that he found himself in a position he had to escape, and a dead man can move between the kingdoms a lot easier in some respects."

Her frown only deepened upon hearing that as she looked down at her feet. "For the record, I hope you're right. For you and Winter both."

"Winter?" At first, she seemed confused but it eventually smoothed out into something much softer. "I suppose she did look up to him. He spoke of her fondly- off the record, of course."

"Yeah, she's... really upset by the news." A shrug. "Weiss talked to her but... I get the feeling it didn't go as well as it could've."

Goodwitch nodded. "I'll speak with her soon. I doubt she'll possess my level of certainty, though."

Yang nodded, finding herself hard pressed to see the headstrong Alpha changing her mind about this particular subject. "Sometimes, hope is all we have. We gotta share it while we can."

Even if Winter didn't choose to cling to hope, at least she'd have someone who could share the grief. Although they weren't inclined to it the same way Omegas were, Alphas were sometimes the only ones who  _could_  provide comfort to other Alphas.

"Thank you for your concern. You should get some rest." Her former teacher sighed, shaking her head slightly. "We've... a long road ahead."

"Yeah. Good night."

With a nod, she turned and went back down the hallway, aimlessly wandering through the ship back to her quarters. Taking a direct path back would've been quicker, sure, but she didn't have a pressing  _need_  to get back and it helped her prepare for stepping into her room. Normally, she'd grab the blanket and sit on her bunk for a few hours, playing the little game.

Her gaze fell on the electronic, sitting there innocently on her dresser. She picked it up in her prosthetic hand, tightening her hold as the plastic began to groan. This, too, served as a reminder...

... but before she could crush it in her palm, she stopped. Unlike the blanket, this didn't allow her to cling to something that would never come to pass. This was a sign that Winter saw her as a friend, wanted to help her and ease her suffering, take her mind off her predicament. The woman was a thoughtful Alpha; she didn't have to do more than bring Yang food during her heat, but she brought her this. Even let her keep it for a time to whittle the hours away and she appreciated that.

Instead, she set it back down, making a mental note to return it at the next possible opportunity. Given the extent of her grief, she could probably use the distraction now.

With a sigh, she passed a hand over her face and turned towards the bathroom, intent on getting a hot shower in to scrub away any lingering scent clinging to her skin. The Omega couldn't wash away her mistakes, perhaps, but she could at least get a fresh start tomorrow.


	13. Phoenix Rising

Unfortunately, sleep didn't come as easy as she would've liked that night. Yang tossed and turned for hours before settling into a fitful slumber, only to be awoken in the middle of the night by a nightmare. Trying to catch her breath, she wiped the sweat from her brow and threw the covers off of her, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

It... shouldn't still bother her. Adam was dead- _dead_ dead- and she'd seen it with her own eyes. Helped, even. Yet... somehow, he lived on in her nightmares, just out of sight, stealing away from her everything she held dear.

Passing a hand over her face, she reattached her prosthetic and got a bit more dressed. A walk around the ship to clear her mind might help; at the very least, it would give her time to figure out something to occupy her time. They were still about halfway to Vacuo at this point, which meant a lot more flying until they could link up with Team SSSN and then head for Vale.

At this time of night, despite rotating the shifts for flying, most slept. It could be hell trying to flip one's sleep schedule around but the majority of them had a bit of experience snapping awake and going for almost a full day without needing to sleep and the rest were developing the skill quickly enough. All but the auxiliary lights were shut off, as much so others could sleep as to conserve energy. Ruby had hoped they'd be able to use the airship as an asset in the final battle but it looked like they wouldn't quite make it that far with what remained in the tank, and just swinging by a gas station _didn't_ seem very plausible at present.

The airship creaked and groaned as she walked, hitting a small patch of turbulence before evening out. Although her mind wandered through topics- actively avoiding anything recent and instead trying to dredge up anything _else_ she'd learned at Signal and Beacon that might help them now- her feet managed to carry her towards various 'safe' parts of the ship. Yang didn't go near Stryker's quarters or Winter's and neither did she find herself passing the Chief Engineer's quarters. Instead, she found herself ducking into one of the rec rooms scattered throughout the ship, this one with a nice long window for viewing the scenery outside and a spacious U-shaped couch- basically a lounge, complete with a little bar off to the side with stools set up in front.

Unfortunately, she wasn't the first one to find it tonight. "Trouble sleeping?"

In the back of her mind, she screamed. After patting herself on the back for not falling into the _other_ traps, somehow she'd managed to cross the Alpha's path anyway. "Yeah. You, too?"

"I didn't bother trying." Winter sat on the couch with her feet propped up on the right side of the U, facing the windows and staring out, unseeing, to the sky beyond, lit up with constellations. She didn't bother turning her head, arms crossed over her chest and a scowl etched into her expression. "No use."

For a moment, the Omega debated excusing herself before stepping further into the room. "Thinking about the General?"

"Hm?" That earned her the woman's attention, briefly, turning her head to watch as Yang stepped around the far end of the couch. Then, she returned her attention to the window. "Yes. Only now do I realize how little I knew him. How little I know... most of the people in my life."

Cautiously, she sat down on the couch- not far enough away to make it seem like she didn't want to be there but not close enough to encroach, either- and leaned back. "Did... you talk to Goodwitch yet?"

"I did. She found me earlier." A wince, a bit of shame coming to her expression. "I... wasn't being very subtle in my movements around the ship; she pulled me aside and we... spoke." Then, she sighed. "I was in a room with _both_ of them and never suspected a thing. Only now do I realize how blind I've been in so many regards." Her face fell as she turned away, as if to hide the downturn her thoughts had taken. "I can't even trust my own instincts anymore."

"That's the grief talking," she said, worry pinching her brow. "I know... I haven't done much to show it- especially after the meeting- but _I_ trust your instincts, Winter. I mean, I didn't suspect anything either; it never occurred to me that Goodwitch _had_ a mate and I was in her class for months. You saw the General, what, once every few months or so?"

For a very brief moment, the woman's gaze flicked her way. "Perhaps you have a point. I'm just... unsure. What it all means."

"Well, we've had our strings yanked around all our lives. Finding that out... I think it's only natural to be unsure about things." Her brows pinched together, struggling to find the words she wanted. She wanted to be supportive but... in a platonic way. It wouldn't help if she kept overstepping boundaries, exacerbating her own broken heart. Yet, neither could she stand by and let someone succumb to despair. "But now, we know all the cards in the deck. We might not be holding them yet but we've got a chance at least. So, ya know... that's something."

Winter gave a brief chuckle, glancing her way. "Your optimism is one of your best qualities."

"Let me guess: another's that I'm handy?" She lifted her prosthetic with a wry smirk on her lips, earning her a slightly longer laugh. "I know it's hard to believe right now but... we've got to believe in _something_ , right?"

In the back of her mind, she thought back to earlier, when she'd clung to the woman as the only thing she _could_ believe in, what she needed most in the moment. Perhaps she couldn't provide that in turn but she could at least do her best to help Winter through this moment of doubt.

When blue eyes fell on her, she could almost _feel_ the unsaid words though she couldn't begin to guess what they might be. "I do believe. I'm just not sure if it matters anymore."

"Of course it does." A frown touched her lips. "We've got too much of this war left for it to not." The Alpha nodded, then turned her gaze away, staring with unseeing eyes towards the void beyond. With little idea how else to comfort the woman, Yang opted for trying something a little different. He looked out at the view beyond and spoke softly, confident Winter would stop her if it turned out she wasn't helping at all. "I only met him once, ya know. After the doubles round, when I..."

"When you were framed." There it came again, the stone cold certainty.

"Yeah." Her lips twitched slightly, tempted to smile. At least the people who mattered believed her. "I was so confused. I knew what I saw but I also saw the footage myself- I couldn't explain it. I think some part of him believed me, too, but... in the end, it didn't matter. He had a job to do and investigating the event wasn't really it. So, he put me under house arrest. I kinda hoped I might hear him apologize once but I really don't blame him for what he had to do. I hope I still have the chance to tell him that, apology or no."

"For what it's worth, you wouldn't have that prosthetic if he didn't believe you were telling the truth," Winter said, meeting her gaze when she glanced over. "I didn't have a hand in the process but I overheard the specifications he required for it. If he believed, for a moment, that you'd done anything wrong, he never would've ordered for a custom prosthetic that so closely mimicked your fighting style. Though he... didn't make a perfect match, I'll admit."

"That's probably for the best." She shrugged, looking over the black and yellow metal and flexing her fingers. "Learning to fight with this thing... it was something to focus on, cling to, when I really needed it, and upgrading it to what I really wanted... he set me up pretty nice."

"You made upgrades?"

"Just a few tweaks." She shrugged, clenching her hand into a fist. The lack of sensation still wore on her but it would mellow with time. "To make it feel like mine, like a part of me. I took this thing apart and put it back together again and again. I learned something new every time."

"Amazing." Yang looked over, finding genuine surprise and awe written across the woman's features that she quickly schooled into a more pleasantly interested expression. "Perhaps it's a side effect of my weapon choice. Maintenance of a blade is much different than any manner of firearm- especially a _literal_ one."

She couldn't help but laugh at that. Somehow, she'd yet to make that joke. "Firearm, that's a good one. At this rate, I'll have to stop knocking the Schnee sense of humor."

"I pride myself on my ability to learn." A deliberate pause. "Eventually."

They both laughed, settling into a comfortable silence after. The Omega breathed in deeply, absently realizing something seemed off but unable to put her finger on it as she felt the urge to sleep begin to weigh down her eyelids.

"Why did you tell me that? About the General?"

The question roused her a bit and she shrugged. "You said you think you don't know people very well; the only way to change that is to learn more about them. So, I spotted you some free knowledge. You'll have to start asking questions yourself if you want to learn more."

The Alpha made a soft, considering noise. "May I ask you a question, then?"

"Shoot."

For a moment, they held each other's gaze. Yang could see in her eyes that a question lingered but she seemed to change her mind at the last moment, glancing down. "What upgrades did you make?"

"Uh, it's... kinda technical and boring and it might not make a lot of sense." The Omega couldn't help but raise a brow. "You sure you're up for that?"

"We have nothing if not time."

With a nod, she moved closer to the Alpha. Considering her surprise before, it seemed fair to think she might not have as detailed an understanding of prosthetics and their interior components as Yang possessed by virtue of having one, so a bit of a visual aid seemed necessary. Truthfully, the alterations she'd personally implemented were pretty basic by her standards- the machinations required to keep Ember Celica and Crescent Rose running smoothly were a few steps beyond the little tweaks she'd made- but they made charging the metal with aura much easier, which in turn helped feed her semblance. Not a lot but better than nothing.

By the time she'd gotten to the part where she'd adjusted the sensitivity calibrations to provide her a bit more control, Yang noted that Winter was on the verge of nodding off. As she continued detailing the smallest minutia, she lowered her voice and suppressed all inflection, droning on and on about inane technical specifications- and making it up towards the end as the woman's breathing deepened and her eyes closed.

The Omega smiled softly, falling silent and listening to ensure Winter had fallen into a deep slumber while relaxing back into the couch herself. In the dim lights, the Alpha looked peaceful, serene, and she likely wouldn't get another chance to see her like this. It hurt, of course, but... she'd helped the woman get some much needed rest. That counted as a victory in her book.

Eventually, she tore her gaze away by closing her eyes and leaning her head back. After taking a moment to just... soak it in, she'd return to her room and try sleeping again.

For now, though, she could relish a job well done.

* * *

The static of the PA kicking on roused her, a groan slipping from her lips as she stretched her arms above her head. Beside her, Winter stirred as well, scrubbing at her face. Obviously, they'd _both_ fallen asleep and... perhaps drifted closer during slumber and she immediately slid away a bit so they both had room to wake up properly.

"Team RWBY to the top deck! We've got some friendlies incoming!" Nora's chipper voice sang out, alerting Yang that not only had dawn broken but they'd both managed to sleep for quite a while on the lounge's couch, the sun already high in the sky.

"Well, duty calls," she said, standing up and working out the crick in her neck from falling asleep sitting up. Sneaking a glance, she noticed the Alpha doing much the same and stretching out her back.

"If you require any assistance, please, let me know."

"Sure."

"And... thank you."

As she turned towards the doorway, a small smile curled her lips. "Hey, glad my engineer talk helped you get some sleep. You needed it."

"Not just that." She paused in the threshold, looking back over her shoulder to see Winter's expression, caught somewhere between grateful and ashamed. "I doubt Weiss would've known to come find me if you hadn't sent her. I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

The Omega nodded, biting back the words in her heart. They didn't see each other the same but _she_ still cared, too. "No problem."

Leaving the lounge behind, she let out a sigh of relief. She felt conflicted about everything- about being so close, yet not- but it would take time for her to let go of her feelings. In the end, supporting her friends- she could do that and do it well. She just needed to keep plying her strengths, for everyone's sake.

Yang made it to the observation deck on her sister's heels, finding their teammates already waiting for them with an airship poised above. Smoke trailed from one engine and the side looked scored all to hell- unlike their own, it was a civilian transport lacking any means of defense and listing pretty low. Poor thing probably wouldn't make it back to the mainland.

"Okay, Weiss, you're up!" Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose, bringing it to bear. "Use your glyphs to control their descent! Blake, Yang, you're both on anchor duty. I'll grab anyone who slips past."

"Got it!" They replied as one, Weiss brandishing her rapier while Blake unwound her ribbons, handing one end to Ruby. Spotting a railing that had a decent amount of support to it, Yang latched on with her right hand, locking down the servos in her prosthetic while wrapping her left arm around the Faunus' waist.

As the damaged airship began pitching into a nose dive, the side door burst open and four familiar figures rushed through, one after another. The Alpha caught them with her glyphs easily enough, giving them jumping points, but there existed a... problem. With the other airship beginning to fall from the sky, their flight path had to alter accordingly, or else risk running into the unmanned wreckage. That meant they'd likely have to go to their back-up plan and Yang braced herself even as Ruby began to aim for Scarlet, who seemed to be having the most trouble. Weiss did her best to account for the change but the majority of Team SSSN didn't use concussive weapons the way Team RWBY did, putting them at a distinct disadvantage when it came to changing momentum midair.

"Get ready!" Ruby shouted a moment before the Beta launched, using Crescent Rose to propel her. She had no hope of beating the airship's speed, so going straight for her target wouldn't work; she had to angle it just right for a collision course.

Thankfully, her sister had a knack for math, leaving the two Omegas to strain against the sudden tension on the ribbon as their team leader hit her mark while Neptune- _somehow_ \- found his way to the observation deck, though the landing wasn't pretty. Better than the one Yang experienced the other day, though, so she had to give him credit there.

"Can't you just pull them in?" He shouted, looking to where Sun and Sage were having trouble keeping up with the airship.

"It's not that easy!" Weiss growled, the Alpha obviously taxing her aura to keep conjuring array after array. "Can't _they_ move faster?"

Blake huffed, reeling in Ruby and Scarlet as quickly as she could. The moment they'd set down, their team leader turned to aim again while her cargo crawled away on hands and knees, muttering more than a few choice words about their flight. Yang watched as the damaged airship dipped down, passing below their altitude and Sun threw himself onto the hull of the airship, bouncing along the metal until he found a decent hold. From there, Weiss could get him to the deck, but splitting her attention between summoning two different sets of glyphs-

"Rubes, now!"

Her sister launched, passing out of view about the same time Sage did, and they had to hope the line went taunt because she'd caught him. Considering the force pulling against them- Blake pouring all her strength into holding onto the ribbon while Yang had all hers focused on not letting her go- it seemed reasonable, and they needed Neptune and Scarlet's help to reel in their last teammate while Sun managed to crawl to safer ground with Weiss' help. By the time they'd pulled Sage and Ruby into view, the whole lot of them were winded and sweating, using their aura to keep their arms from pulling out of socket.

"Ya gotta admit," Sun said, a wide smile on his lips even as the distant roar of the other airship crashing into the sea caught up to them. "Never a dull moment when we're around!"

"That's putting it lightly." Weiss huffed, moving to check on Blake the moment Ruby and Sage had their feet under them and the ribbon went slack.

It took Yang a few moments to let go of the railing, wincing slightly at the bent metal she left behind. Come to think of it, she probably needed to check the settings again; even if the damage came more from the force exerted on her and Blake by acting as anchor, she wouldn't want the prosthetic to malfunction and do that to anything else. At least, nothing she didn't _intend_ on destroying.

"Can we head inside now?" Neptune ran a hand along the band of his goggles. "Don't get me wrong, the windswept look is good on me, but I _really_ don't need any help in that department."

"Good to see you haven't lost your charm," she said, smirking slightly at the Beta.

"Seriously, though, let's head inside." Ruby collapsed Crescent Rose down, then paused. "Wait. Sun, you _did_ remember to grab the-"

"Oh, yeah, I... totally... uh..." Sage cleared his throat, holding up a bag and raising a brow at his team leader. "See! Right there. I told Sage to grab it and he did!"

"So, become a better team leader, huh?" Blake chuckled, moving to open the door leading back into the airship and getting beat by Weiss, a stern look on her face. Obviously, she had some very strong opinions on when her mate should be seeking rest: preferably, soon.

"Hey! We _got_ the relic! I'm just not the best person to keep track of it, that's all!" He laughed, tugging on the lapels of his new coat. "That's why I _delegate_."

As Yang shut the door behind them, the others preceding her, she picked up on something- the faintest expressions crossing Sun's and Neptune's faces. Without the wind to take them away, they'd probably caught Blake's and Weiss' scents and the bond now clearly marked between them. Somehow, neither seemed the least bit surprised, merely shrugging and continuing after Ruby as she explained some minor details about their planned assault on Salem's base once they'd secured the final relic.

She paused as the others continued, brow furrowing. Not even a word of confirmation needed? Just... like that? Not that Neptune had pursued Weiss- more like the other way around, though fleetingly- or Sun's intentions had been clear but... it made her feel bad. After causing so many problems dealing with her own unrequited feelings, to be confronted with others just shrugging it off like nothing...

"I've been an idiot this whole time, huh?" Her shoulders fell a little bit, chin dropping to her chest.

Then she squared up and followed after the others. She couldn't change the past but she could start charging towards the future with a fire in her eyes.

That started now.

* * *

Yang kicked at the door, her hands occupied by two bowls and a bag tucked under one arm. The moment it slid open, she smiled.

"Uh." Her sister furrowed her brow. "What's up?"

"Brought you a pick-me-up," she said, holding out one bowl filled with vanilla pudding. It, well, it wasn't _great_ by any stretch of the imagination, being the military ration sort that was powdered until someone added water, but she'd gotten the ratio right so it at least _looked_ like pudding. "Thought you might wanna talk."

"Uh, really?" With a bit of confusion evident in her voice, she accepted the bowl and let Yang into the room. After getting team SSSN settled in and securing the relic with the others, they'd gone their separate ways, which meant Ruby retreated to her room- where she seemed to be more often than not recently. "About what?"

"Well. A couple things." Retrieving the bag, she held it up and gave it a little shake, revealing the label clearly marking them as cookies. "Mainly, I wanna know where your head's at, and I'm not above using bribery."

For a moment, it looked like her sister might have the willpower to resist. Then, she folded quicker than a pyramid of cards on a windy day, snatching the bag and sitting on her bed. "Okay, fine, let's talk."

"Great!" Taking a seat beside Ruby, she stirred the pudding a bit- and tried not to think too hard about what might be in it. "Now, spill. It... couldn't have been easy. Learning the truth about the relics and Mom."

"It... wasn't." For a moment, she focused only on the pudding, popping a spoonful into her mouth and wincing slightly. Yang followed suit and... well... it wasn't _bad_ but she had to admit it only vaguely tasted like pudding. At least it was better than the 'mashed potatoes'; no wonder soldiers were always so surly, if they thought _this_ stuff was close to edible. "When he first told me, I... kinda went numb? I mean..." She blinked rapidly, as if trying to keep herself from crying. "I always wanted to believe Mom died being a hero. Fighting monsters, saving the day- I wanted _so bad_ to think... she won, even if she died." Her expression fell. "Finding out she was fighting a battle she might not have been _able_ to win..."

Putting a hand on her sister's shoulder, the Omega sighed. "She was trying to protect us- she _did_ win. She bought us time."

"Time to what?" Now, a bit of anger colored her tone as she scowled down at the bowl. "We didn't _do_ _anything_ with that time. I could've been- been learning about these powers I have, the whole silver eyes thing, but... there was no one to teach me." Then, her expression fell, fury slipping away to sadness. "I... still don't have a teacher; I have the idea, but... I'm alone, trying to figure this out." When silver eyes landed on her, she could feel every doubt that had to be racing around Ruby's mind. "I'm still scared."

"That's okay." She wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders and pulled her close, setting her chin atop her head. It'd been years since she'd held Ruby like this, trying to soothe away bad dreams, but no matter what, Yang was still her big sister. It was her job to chase away those fears as best she could. "It's okay to be scared right now. I think we all are. And it's okay to be mad about this and to miss Mom. Hell, _I'm_ angry." She pressed her lips into a thin line, pausing long enough to decide on what to say. "I'm pissed off it has to be you. That Ozpin kept this from us the whole time. That Mom... I'm mad about a lot of things, and scared about even more." Then, her expression softened. "But I want you to know, I'm not mad at _you_. I know this is who you are. I think you're a lot more like Mom than I ever realized. That's why I can't bear to lose you, because I know you'll fight to the end just to buy us more time, like she did." A brief chuckle. "I... didn't really make that clear before but you're my hero, Sis."

Ruby hugged her and pulled away, smiling sadly. She pulled her arm back and returned to her own bowl, listening intently. "I know you're just looking out for me, just like you always have. You've given me the shoves I needed to get this far... but you can't help me now." Ruby ate another spoonful of the pudding before tearing open the bag of cookies. "I think that's what scares me most."

"Hey, I might not be able to help you with the glowy eyes thing but I've got your back on everything else." In hindsight, she probably should've brought some water with her, wincing as she hit upon a pocket of powder that hadn't mixed well. "It's like you said- we make a plan and we stick to it, we've got a good chance. We just need to stay focused on that." She cleared her throat. "One more relic to go, back where it all began."

"For _us_." Her sister pointed out, nibbling on a cookie. "I mean, this stretches back, Yang. _Far_ back. To before recorded history- this feud between Ozpin and Salem... it's been going on since the beginning, essentially. And this is just... how it goes- calamity after calamity, things _we_ excuse. If we buy more time, no one's going to remember the Fall of Beacon as anything more than a deranged lunatic condemning an entire city!" She made a wide, sweeping gesture with one arm. "There's _so much_ we were taught that... wasn't true. Like- like the Great War. What we were told? None of it was true. Just a cover for another time when Ozpin used a silver eyed warrior to weaken Salem."

Somewhere down in her gut, she'd known that all along. Ever since she woke up and found out that Ruby had stopped that giant wyvern Grimm _somehow_ , she had a sneaking suspicion that there remained a lot of things they didn't know. Or, rather, that what they _did_ know was a family of lies interwoven together, hiding something terrible. Yang sighed, taking another spoonful and swallowing it down. "Makes it hard, huh? To keep fighting when you don't really know what you're fighting for."

A gentle prod while she watched her sister's reaction- how her brows drew together while she chewed slowly, no doubt thinking about those they'd lost along the way.

"I know what I'm fighting for," Ruby said eventually, determination flashing in her eyes. "I'm fighting so this doesn't happen again. This is the _last time_ Salem puts the world in jeopardy, the last time people die in a war they didn't even know they were fighting- I don't care what Ozpin says anymore. When we win, we'll come back and rebuild Beacon and we'll tell people the truth. No more secrets."

"That's a plan I can get behind," she replied, patting her sister's shoulder. "I've still got your back the whole way."

A short chuckle. "You know, I probably wouldn't be able to do this without you. No pressure or anything."

"No pressure?" She laughed, shaking her head. "We've got Remnant's future riding on us, Rubes, but pressure is our bread and butter. I mean, look at what we've done so far!" Her expression fell slightly, recalling Blake's words from the other night. "We snaked three relics and fought our way across two kingdoms. Infiltrated an Atlesian base- a couple of times- and survived blizzards and hordes of Grimm." Voice turning somber, she acknowledged the bad parts as well. "We didn't do all of that without earning our scars and losing friends; we might get more of one and less of the other as we go, too. But this is _our_ fight now. We gotta see it through. For everyone's sake." She stirred the remainder of her pudding, contemplating whether or not to finish it. "It's... a lot. Way more than I thought possible. But, we're not alone in this fight- might even pick up some more friends along the way."

"But we might lose some, too." Ruby ate another cookie, tilting her head down. "I don't want to lose anymore, Yang. I still mean that."

Setting the bowl aside, she lightly bumped their shoulders together. "Then that means we keep kicking ass. Have you caught Sun's team up to speed yet?"

"I thought they should rest a little bit before I drop _that_ bomb on them," she replied, taking another bite of cookie while setting the pudding aside. In hindsight, probably not the best pick-me-up.

"Want me to handle it?" Yang smirked. "Sun had a point about delegating, ya know."

"I mean, I was going to ask Blake to do it; I think Sun, at least, would get it a bit better if she explained it." Her sister shrugged, then hummed. "I'm... kinda surprised you're, uh, doing so much better."

A mirthless chuckle. "I haven't really been acting right, I know that."

"I mean, you kinda stormed out after the meeting... and Winter followed you, so..."

"We got into an argument," she said, looking away briefly. "Then we... came to an agreement. Kinda. And, uh, I didn't really like it, so... some stuff happened and I made a dumb mistake. Then, we got word about Ironwood and... I talked to her a bit last night. She'd doing better and I'm... I'm accepting it." Silver eyes watched her, wordlessly accusing her of hiding something. "Look, you _don't_ want the specifics on this."

"Was this 'mistake' worse than the time with the roman candles?"

" _Way_ worse." The Omega sighed, dragging a hand over her face. "Just- all you need to know is that I'm... letting go. I love her but... she doesn't love me. And I'm accepting that."

Reaching into the bag, Ruby withdrew a cookie and offered it wordlessly. With a small smile, she accepted it. Something about the look on her sister's face told her she had thoughts along the lines of Blake but had the presence of mind not to voice them- at least not now.

That was probably for the best.

"Thanks, Yang." A small smile. "It kinda feels... well, I feel kinda alone right now. Thanks for reminding me I'm not."

"Anytime."

"And you know you're not, too, right?" She made a vague gesture. "I mean, even with everything going on, we're still here for you, too."

For a moment, the Omega looked away. "Ya know, you told me that before, but I didn't really listen, did I?" Then, she looked back to her sister. "This time, I mean it when I say I know. You don't have to worry about me from now on." One reddish brown brow arched. "Okay, rephrase? I'm not going to hole up on my own again."

"Alright." At that moment, a bit of guilt flashed in silver eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't go talk to you after the meeting-"

"Nah, don't be like that." A chuckle slipped past her lips. "You have the right priorities. I just... couldn't get my head on straight."

"Still."

"Fine, we'll both do better, alright?" She held up a fist. "Promise?"

Ruby smiled, bumping their fists together. "Promise."

Between the two of them, they finished off the rest of the cookies and silently agreed to leave the pudding alone going forward.

* * *

Yang strode down the corridor, following the faint scent of the Alpha she sought. Curiously, she didn't catch the woman's mate, which she found a bit odd until she turned down towards the stairwell towards the combat simulators. Obviously, Weiss was training obsessively like Blake mentioned and that hadn't abated; considering their exercise that afternoon getting Team SSSN on board, she'd think the woman would try recovering some. Then again, she really couldn't say she was surprised.

Following the stairs down, she located the room, listening at the door for a moment while reviewing the simulation's panel. Yang cringed after glancing at all the settings; this went _far_ beyond 'training'. Weiss had to be pushing herself to the brink with settings this high.

The Omega listened intently, watching the little timer countdown until the mandatory break between iterations and opening the door the moment that break started, slipping into the room.

"Is something wrong?" Weiss regarded her briefly before settling into her stance again, awaiting the next battery of opponents while trying very hard to make it seem like she wasn't out of breath. She'd procured an extra uniform from somewhere and wore it in lieu of her usual skirt, probably to avoid the latter being destroyed considering how many rips and tears were in the fabric. Hard light opponents didn't always leave evidence of their presence but, given the current settings, Yang found herself sighing in relief that there didn't seem to be any blood. "I'm busy."

"I can see that," she replied, stepping up beside the Alpha and raising her fists, activating Ember Celica on her left arm. "Redo of the doubles round?"

Blue eyes darted her way before a small smile curled her lips. "Don't get distracted this time."

Yang couldn't help but smirk. "Wouldn't dream of it."

As their opponents manifested, she found herself hard pressed to keep up- and not due to a lack of training on her part. The enemies in question were beefed up Atlesian Knights, both the older versions and the new, sleeker models, meaning they had to deal with long range _and_ short range opponents. Which, normally, wouldn't be a problem, but Weiss had obviously focused on fighting solo so rigorously that she didn't have the presence of mind to be careful, favoring brutally devastating blows to her usual surgical precision. That left the Omega to dodge not only the hard light opponents but also her ally's own attacks, including her summons, which didn't possess the same recognition between friend and foe as her sister's.

The summoned knights- the same towering figure that helped spring her from Raven's cage back in the bandit camp- were easy enough to dodge, their swords moving in wide, sweeping arcs that she could jump over or slide beneath. The boarbatusks, on the other hand, were a bit more tricky, as their tusks and charges were a bit harder to account for, especially when she also had Lancers flying and diving overhead. As a unit, the summons worked together well, but at the expense of Weiss not being _quite_ cognizant of her teammate's positioning.

Twice, Yang intentionally failed to dodge a blow from the summons. The first time went unnoticed but the second? _That_ caught Weiss' attention effectively.

"Simulation, terminate!"

"Simulation terminating." A computer generated voice replied a moment before the enemies dissipated to nothingness.

"Yang, are you alright?" Worry colored her tone as she quickly closed the distance, inspection the fresh tear to her leather jacket where a Lancer's stinger had nearly punctured her shoulder. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Hey, it's fine." Yang chuckled, rolling her shoulders and neck while sitting up. She'd landed on her back after that last blow but not hard enough to knock the wind from her. Truthfully, she hadn't really even tuckered herself out, but she also hadn't been training all day. "It hardly glanced me. But, ya know, the friendly fire kinda sucks."

"I... wasn't paying attention..." She shook her head, replacing her weapon on her hip and using both hands to inspect the tear. "I'm still making simple mistakes. In trying to get better, I'm losing my control."

"I think you're actually losing your _focus_ ," the Omega said, frowning slightly. Normally, Weiss- and Alphas in general- didn't dote this much on anyone except her mate. At the same time... well, she couldn't really say she disliked it, but what it reminded her of worried her just a bit. "You also don't usually call upon that many summons."

"It was only six," she replied, bristling slightly in defense but finally deeming her alright enough to sit back on her heels. "Mother could use upwards of a hundred-"

"Probably when they're _small_ and moving as a single unit or in simple motions, and I'm pretty sure they have to be the same type. At least, from what I've seen." With a motion of her hand, she indicated the training room. "You're trying to control complex motions for six full sized summons. I'm _pretty_ sure you need to work up to that. You only started summoning, what, a year or two ago, right?"

"Which is _far_ behind the curve for my family." A sigh, the tension in her shoulders winding tighter. "If we're to succeed, I _must_ -"

She raised a brow. "Remember who you're fighting with?" The woman looked marginally chagrined at that. "Weiss, come on. You've got nothing to prove to me and you don't have to shoulder all this on your own. We're a team; we work together."

"Excuse _you_ \- you can't give me the same lecture I gave you last week!"

"I can if you're not _taking_ _your own advice_ ," she replied with a smirk. "I'm sure Winter would tell you the same if you asked; she usually fights alone but that's not you. Have you talked to her about it?"

For a moment, the Alpha's expression darkened as she looked away. "I appreciate the sentiment but I can't answer that."

Her brows furrowed. "You... can't?"

"Alpha's challenge."

Though it _did_ provide an answer, it also brought up a slew of more questions. Although a time honored tradition, hardly any Alphas she'd known issued challenges to other Alphas as a means of securing an agreement; usually, a Beta or Omega would mediate if a problem arose. However, once decided- usually through martial means- the losing Alpha had to abide the terms. Which, in this case, seemed to be that Weiss couldn't talk about Winter to Yang, now that she thought on it;definitely explained why she mentioned her _mother_ instead of her sister when comparing the use of their hereditary semblance.

 _Why_ a challenge would be issued, though, remained a mystery, and one it seemed she'd have no luck solving, considering the only two people she could ask.

"Oh," she said, at a loss for words. "Well... it's... something to think about?"

Weiss sighed, looking at her then and obviously wanting to say so much. Instead, she seemed to settle on what she _could_. "I'll keep in mind. But, at the end of the day, I have so much to lose. I _have_ to be better... to be..."

"Perfect?" She offered, knowing she'd slipped past the woman's defenses when she looked away. "Don't you think it's worrying Blake, you locking yourself in here like this?" At the mention of her mate, the Alpha looked towards the door. "You have to trust us, Weiss. We're not going to get through this if we're working against each other."

"I know that." She ran a hand through her bangs and sighed heavily. "I'm just... terrified. That I'll falter at the wrong moment and someone else will pay the price. Professor Oobleck-"

"Would've covered your retreat no matter what." Yang wrapped an arm around the Alpha's shoulders. "You gotta remember, Weiss, that you _are_ a certifiable badass." Her chosen moniker earned her a snicker and a fond roll of the woman's eyes, as she'd hoped. "But we're even _more_ badass when we work together. If I'd been there- or just one more person- he would've made it and now we know that." She paused, trying to find a suitable compromise. "We should do some team drills; there should be enough time before we reach the city. Until then... you should probably spend some time with your mate. Once we get that last relic, it's going to be a mad dash to Salem's fortress, so not a whole lot of time for cuddling, ya know?"

Regarding her rapier for a moment, she replaced it on her hip as her shoulders slumped. "I suppose you have a point. It's just... difficult. To sit idle."

"It's not being idle." The Omega looked at her gauntlet, flicking her wrist to collapse it. "We just can't run full speed the whole time. So take the downtime when it's there. You deserve to relax every now and then."

"I know you're right- really, I do." Weiss got to her feet and offered a hand, helping her up as well.

"So, we're good?" She smirked. "No more grumpy Alpha training herself to the bone?"

Again, she received an eye roll and a huff, the woman setting her hands on her hips. "Fine, fine, no more training by myself." Then her expression turned a bit more somber. "And, challenge or no, we're _always_ 'good'." Then, her features softened. "You're one of the first friends I ever made, Yang, and I don't plan on losing you anytime soon; it's going to take a lot more than a damned challenge to change that."

Her expression lifted into a wide smile. She hadn't _really_ thought the challenge would interfere with their friendship but, damn, did she appreciate the confirmation. "Good to hear, Princess."

A light shove to her shoulder. "Don't push it."

They both laughed- the Omega a bit more vigorously than the Alpha- and exited the simulator, turning to head off their own ways. Partly because she had her own agenda but mostly because it only took a pointed look to send Weiss off looking for her mate. Mentally, Yang went down the list. she'd popped in on Jaune, Ren, and Nora earlier, plus Ruby, and her conversation with Blake had her confident on that front. Glynda and Winter... well, she thought the former was good for the moment and the later probably needed to be checked on by someone else. She could check in on Team SSSN next but they were probably still resting and Team SNOW... yeah, they'd be at the bottom of her personal list, frankly.

Of the remainder, one stuck out as her next stop and she started that way immediately.

* * *

She knocked on the door and waited for a muffled invite to enter before hitting the button and stepping through the threshold. Much like with Ruby, she brought a little treat in the form of a candy bar she'd dug out of one of the meals- not a military brand one, either, but a _real_ chocolate bar- and offered a wide smile. Her expression brightened considerably when she found just who she was looking for sitting up in bed, looking tired and haggard but smiling back at her all the same.

"Hey, Yang," he said, almost immediately noting the candy bar. "What's that?"

"A 'welcome back' present," she replied, handing it to Oscar and sitting on the edge of his bed. "How're you feeling? Be honest."

"I'm... alright." He shrugged, unwrapping the bar and nibbling on one corner. "Like, I still feel... really weird but I guess... it's not as bad?" A wince as he rubbed at his temple. "It's... kinda hard to think."

A frown touched her lips. "Is there anything I can do to help you out?"

His eyes lit up though he looked away, towards the little window in his room. "Well, there's... one thing... but, Miss Goodwitch says I'm not strong enough yet."

She shrugged when Oscar looked over at her. "I'm strong enough; you can lean on me. What can I do?"

* * *

Yang stepped out onto the observation deck, ducking a little low to make sure Oscar didn't bump his head. With Ozpin retreating for the time being, he hadn't quite regained the ability to move around, his mind clouded by the mental anguish. Therefore, he hadn't been able to get any fresh air, which had to be distressing; even during her months wallowing in depression, she had a window she could open. It didn't exactly... _help_ of course but they had different experiences. Even if she couldn't see the expression on his face, she could hear the gratitude in his voice.

"I really missed the fresh air."

She turned her head, looking at him over her shoulder. It had been years since she'd given someone a piggyback ride. "We probably can't stay out here too long."

"That's fine," he replied. "I just need a few minutes."

The Omega chuckled, looking at the land far beyond the airship's nose. Rather than adjust course to head straight for Beacon, they'd opted to head for Vale first, that way they were above land rather than miles of open ocean. Neptune had already made his approval of that plan _well_ known, bringing a smirk to her lips as she thought about it.

"Hey, Yang... are you going to be okay?"

"I'm getting there," she replied. "One step at a time."

He shifted against her back, sounding a little drowsy. "If you ever need to talk... I know I don't really... know much about that stuff. But I can listen."

For a moment, she felt a sharp stab of regret- not that it would've been _hard_ to discern her poor mood as of late- but brushed it off. "Don't worry about it. I know my head's been all over the place but I'm focused now. We've got a war to win."

"Do you really think we can win it?" The arms draped over her shoulders tightened for a moment. "I've been having... nightmares. But I don't think that's what they are. It's like... I'm seeing things from Ozpin's memory... _and_ from Salem's. But what I see... the times they've fought before..."

In the back of her mind, she wondered if it would be better to leave Oscar at Beacon. Team CFVY had held the former Academy for this long; they could probably take on one more refugee. "She's never had to face _us_ before. This time will be the last time. Promise."

Yang sounded sure, even to her own ears, and it must've put him at ease enough to relax. When he started to nod off, she turned to head back inside. Goodwitch might come and chew her out for it later but considering he'd dropped into a peaceful sleep, she'd take it no problem.

As she made her way back to Oscar's room to tuck him back into bed, she took stock- of those she'd checked on and those she hadn't, who probably needed a pick-me-up and who would prefer a hug.

In the back of her mind, she could almost laugh; she quite nearly felt like herself again.


	14. Decisive Action

Alarms blared, jolting the Omega from her slumber. She had enough time to sit up and reattach her prosthetic before the airship lurched violently to one side, nearly tossing her from her bed. Gritting her teeth, she zipped up her boots as quickly as she could and ran out of her room, with the intention of heading for the cockpit, but Ruby's voice stopped her as her sister came over the PA.

"We have to abandon ship immediately! Sun, Jaune, meet me in the relic room! Yang, grab Oscar! Everyone, head to the loading bay, now!"

Without hesitation, she found the nearest stairwell and charged up, heading straight for Oscar's room as the airship continued to rock. She'd hoped for turbulence but this  _had_  to be evasive maneuvers of some sort, which meant company of the violent kind. Just about the worst news to wake up to, she thought, jamming her finger onto the door's button once she reached her destination.

"What's going on?" His brows pinched together, obviously struggling to get to his feet.

"Nothing good," she replied, closing the distance and scooping him up. Unfortunately, while piggyback might be more comfortable, it would be a bit too difficult to make sure he didn't get hurt on the way to the loading bay. Keeping him in front of her would be her best bet to make sure he didn't get hurt. "Got the cane?"

"Yeah." He held up his left hand to prove it as the bulkhead creaked ominously.

Yang quickly turned and started running for the loading bay, trying to block out the sounds; the airship's defense system seemed to be trying to fend off whatever was attacking them and struggling to keep up. It might not be the highest class of airship the Atlas military used but it ranked high enough that anything short of a massive horde or a higher class ship would be cause for concern. Considering the Commander now had control of Atlas' military, however, all bets were off on what might be attacking them.

By the time they reached the loading bay, most everyone else was already there. Goodwitch, Port, Qrow, Weiss, Blake, and Team SNOW, plus the remaining members of the other teams minus Jaune, Sun, and Ruby. Everyone had their weapon ready, stances wide as the ship continued to rock, the awful sound of metal shredding preceding an awful screech. On the upside: sounded like a horde of Grimm.

The downside:  _it was a horde of Grimm_.

"We're really going to abandon ship?" Nigel shifted, looking around as more pings hit the hull. None nearly as concerning as the louder sound from before but definitely nowhere near the realm of comforting, either. "We're still-"

"Still very far away from Vale, yes, but we're over land now and can make the rest of our trek on foot," Goodwitch said, voice steady even as a sharp bank nearly took the whole lot of them off their feet. "Remaining is  _not_  an option."

"She's right." Ruby continued, a handful of rose petals fluttering in her wake as Sun and Jaune followed a few steps behind, obviously still trying to get their bearings between being drug along by her sister's semblance and the sustained attacks. By the sounds of it, most of the ship's defense array was offline, which meant they didn't have a lot of time left. "We're about to lose the ship. From what I saw, there were Nevermores, Sphynxes, Griffons, and... something I don't even  _know_  what it's called, but it's huge. We're sitting ducks inside but if we can make it to the forest, we stand a chance."

"Ren, Nora, we're going to drop first." Jaune nodded at his teammates. "Our job is to make sure there's nothing on the ground that's going to give us problems. If there is, we take care of it."

"We'll drop next." The Beta tightened a strap on her pack, which no doubt held one of the relics within, while hefting Crescent Rose onto her shoulder. "Weiss, you and I are going to take care of anything trying to stop us in the air. Hopefully, most of the Grimm will remain focused on the airship, so we'll just be picking off the few that peel away."

"Qrow, Port, Goodwitch, you'll go next, followed by Team SNOW." Sun's flashed a smile at his own teammates, holding out a pack to Goodwitch. "We'll be bringing up the rear."

Yang nodded, taking a step towards the drop door before stopping, a thought occurring to her.

"Wait, what about Winter?" Weiss voiced the question a moment before it left her own lips, prompting the Omega to bite her tongue. "Where is she?"

"Still at the helm," Ruby replied, pointedly not looking up. "She insisted someone should stay with the ship-"

 _That_ , however, gave her more than enough reason to speak. "No."

"Yang-"

"Qrow, take Oscar." She held him out, meeting her sister's gaze and reading the look in her eyes well enough. It wasn't like the Beta didn't  _try_  to persuade Winter to leave; the Alpha's stubbornness simply won out. But that wasn't enough for her. "We aren't losing anyone today."

For a moment, it looked like she'd be overridden- and in the back of her mind, she had the feeling this would be one of the few instances where she'd be willing to fight the woman if need be- before a curt nod. "You'd better hurry."

"See you on the ground." With that, she turned, charging back up the stairs in as straight a shot to the cockpit as she could manage amid being thrown against the sides a few times from sharp banks- either intentional or not- as the rending of metal echoed throughout the ship. The pressure fluctuated as well once the door opened or the hull was breached and she could feel the drag it caused acutely as she moved. Although sturdily built, sections of the ship were being sealed off as breaches occurred, but they wouldn't be able to stay airborne much longer. A warning blared across the PA- this one came from the loading bay, though, which likely signaled everyone had made the jump, leaving only two people on board.

When she burst into the cockpit, her heart stopped for a brief moment at the scene beyond- almost pitch black, save for the white of bone plates and the red of their markings, burning yellow eyes mere flashes as Grimm of all sorts darted in front of the airship, evading the few guns still firing. Suddenly, she had a picture perfect understanding what "giant Grimm blob"  _meant_.

But she couldn't focus on that, tearing her gaze away to find Winter trying valiantly to keep the airship level while several instruments went haywire and panels flashed. The Alpha had one hand on the yoke while the other danced across the weapons array, a curse falling from her lips as the line of her shoulders tightened. Given the growing number of red lights below the little plates with weapon names written on them, she likely wouldn't be able to keep up her multitasking for much longer, simply for a lack of something else to manipulate.

Thinking quickly, she cast a gaze around the cockpit, looking for something to keep the airship in the sky and finding nothing. Usually, piloting duties would be relegated to a Knight when a person couldn't be at the helm, but they'd opted not to take any- and for good reason. They all remembered a bit too keenly how the automotons turned against them during the Fall.

Finally, lilac eyes landed on the only solution she could think of in the moment, so she strode forward and put a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Come on, it's time to go."

"Yang?" Blue eyes flashed her way a moment before something crashed against the starboard side, sending them both lurching and coaxing a growl from the Alpha's lips. "You were supposed to abandon ship with the others."

"And you made me a promise that's going to be hard to keep if you're dead," she replied, brows knitting together. "Now get out of that seat. I have an idea." For a moment, Winter watched her before growling again, hitting the release on the seat's harness. Frankly, everyone else ignored the damned thing- better to have freedom of movement- but she was a soldier first and some habits were hard to break. "Keep the yoke steady."

"I'm  _trying_."

Her hands worked quickly, sliding the harness' belts out as far as they would go, the slack originally designed to be adjustable for different body sizes now providing what she hoped would be enough tension to keep the airship steady. Both of them nearly lost their balance as more of the hull got torn into, the Alpha quickly sealing off the affected sections to keep them from ripping apart midair, and Yang came to an unfortunate realization: even with the slack, the harness couldn't reach the yoke... unless it got pulled  _all_  the way back.

Winter seemed to come to the same conclusion. "On three, jump. One, two, three!"

They both jumped as she yanked back on the yoke, a glyph appearing to give them footing as the airship began to climb. With a bit of maneuvering, she managed to loop the harness straps over the yoke and connect the buckle, locking it in place. Now, they had a new challenge- get back to the airship's drop door.

"Ready when you are," Yang said, looking down at the cockpit's door. They'd effectively be traversing the whole ship vertically through spaces meant to be traveled horizontally; combined with the Grimm still attacking the ship, they'd be in for a rough descent to the door, assuming the damn thing didn't rip apart like a rusted tin can without Winter there to section off the hull breaches.

"Let's move." A moment later, the glyph disappeared and they fell down to the doorway, dropping through one at a time. The Omega went first, purely because she  _knew_  the woman would insist upon it and trusted she'd be followed, and landed on the hallway's side, trying to orient herself now that the airship was effectively turned on a ninety degree axis.

Luckily, Winter seemed to adjust far easier, nudging her in the proper direction and sticking close, offering a glyph to stabilize them whenever they had to jump over a doorway or something of the like. Anything not bolted down also shifted, blocking their path a time or two, and dropping down the stairwells qualified as one of the most disorienting things she'd ever done, but with every step Yang got the feeling they wouldn't be able to make it to the drop door.

Especially when a particularly vicious attack must've destroyed one of the engines and probably the whole wing, given the way the airship pitched. She couldn't even be sure which way as they both fetched against a glyph that kept them plastered to the... former ceiling, if she had her bearings right.

"This isn't going to work." The Alpha growled, keeping a hand pressed to her glyph.

"Well, I don't remember seeing an emergency exit," she replied, gritting her teeth as they started to nose dive.

"Then it's time to make one!" Winter pointed down the hall, likely indicating the quickest way to the hull. "We haven't much choice."

Flicking her wrist, she brought Ember Celica to bear, clicking over to the red dust. She didn't pump her fist just yet but she'd be ready. "Let's make a break for it."

Glyphs gave them solid footing as they did just that, Yang winding her fist back a few steps away before delivering a devastating blow to the reinforced steel. With the red dust augmenting her strike, the single hit created a sizable hole, the metal reduced to molten slag that provided enough of a breach for the air to start rushing out, pulling against them as the glyph beneath their feet provided their only saving grace. She wound back again twisting her wrist to change the setting on her prosthetic to allow for a wider spread, jabbing her fist forward to start weakening the area around the breach.

"Down!"

Immediately, she dropped to one knee while Winter covered her as  _something_  came crashing down the hallway, torn out by the difference in air pressure and ripping the hole even bigger on its way out. The ominous groan that followed provided their only warning.

Blindly, both of them launched forward, through the breach and into the open air beyond as the airship began to crumple. Grimm surrounded them, shrieking as they tore into the vessel's decaying carcass, entire sections of the ship being ripped away as all structural integrity failed. Explosions buffeted them, the sound and shockwaves assaults of two very different but disorienting types. From what Yang could tell, they hadn't overshot where the others landed by more than a few miles and could possibly angle themselves the right way, the extra altitude giving them room to maneuver.

However, that would be in a perfect world where they  _weren't_  surrounded by a horde of aerial Grimm with nothing more than their weapons and wits to protect them.

"Stay close!" Winter shouted above the whipping wind in their ears.

Looking over her shoulder, she found the woman had her back turned, more concerned with watching for a diving Gryphon or Nevermore, and focused on watching below them, spreading out her arms and legs to slow her descent enough to bump into the Alpha. In the distance, she could see the huge Grimm Ruby mentioned, like a giant manta ray gliding through the clouds, blobs of darkness falling just as they did from the monstrous creature that attacked Beacon. An ancient, powerful Grimm.

Like they didn't have  _enough_  working against them. "Follow me!"

As far as directions went, they weren't great or terribly specific, but she trusted that her intent would be understood. As long as Winter kept an eye behind them, Yang could guide their descent and at least aim to link up with the others relatively soon.

They fell through the sky, the Omega turning her body and shifting both of them as the airship disintegrated to debris behind them. Unfortunately, the metal proved to be much heavier, meaning it fell  _much_  quicker than they did. Not only did they have to contend with the Grimm fluttering all around them, now they had to dodge jagged pieces of flaming wreckage as well, and Winter quickly realized that jabbing an elbow into her back would be enough to steer them both away from the larger pieces. The smaller ones were likely blocked or deflected by glyphs, seeing as she could catch them bouncing off at odd angles from the corner of her eyes but kept her attention focused on the patch of forest she assumed the others were, the occasional explosion from Nora's grenades all the tip off she needed.

But the closer they got to the forest, the more uneasy she began to feel, glancing behind her. As far as she could tell, the Grimm hadn't tried attacking either of them, more concerned with destroying the airship than anything else. Even now, the horde seemed content with lazily gliding through the air and ripping the larger chunks of the airship to shreds. Not one dove after them.

Winter must've realized it too, rolling out to fall beside her and summoning a series of glyphs ahead of them. The first five broke the moment they made contact, a means of slowing their descent before landing on the sixth. They still had a fair few hundred feet or so before they'd be back on solid ground but both of them took the moment to survey the area above. With the airship destroyed, the horde... appeared to be dispersing.

"I'll admit it's been a while since I last observed Grimm closely." Blue eyes scanned the horizon, seeing no indication of any manner of reinforcements. "But I feel this is atypical behavior."

Yang's brows furrowed as she tried to piece everything together before landing on the obvious answer. "Grimm can't touch the relics." At the curious look directed her way, she hiked a thumb back in Atlas' general direction. "It's how we got the Atlas relic first and why there weren't any Grimm at Haven; the Grimm can find them, but can't  _collect_  them. Salem needs people to do that- Cinder and Terry, her pawns."

"Then, they weren't attempting to  _kill_  us," the Alpha said, a sour frown on her lips. "Merely slow us down."

"Which they accomplished pretty damn well." Lilac eyes turned towards the northeast, just barely able to make out some familiar landmarks in the distance; nowhere near their destination but she could at least do the math in her head. "We're still miles down the coast from the outskirts of Vale. By the time we get there..."

"Terry will be arriving with the full strength of the Atlesian military at their back." Her jaw tightened briefly before she shook her head. "We'd best link up with the others. Whatever defenses the city has placed in the wake of the Fall, they're about to be put through the ultimate test."

They both nodded, the glyph disappearing so they could drop down, alternating between using glyphs to direct their descent and freefalling- likely to conserve energy. With the trek ahead of them, the Schnees' glyphs would make traversing the forest easier and quicker, but at the expense of wearing both of them down. It would take a very delicate balance to keep them from overextending themselves.

When they reached the ground, Ruby and the others were waiting, each looking grim.

"Let me guess. No resistance?"

"Not even a creep," her sister replied, glancing up at the sky. "They only wanted to slow us down."

"That's what we figured, too." Crossing her arms over her chest, the Omega grimaced; she could tell by the look in Weiss' eyes that she'd hit upon the same idea, but she asked anyway. "What's the plan?"

"Winter and I will expedite our journey as much as possible."

Worry flickered across Blake's expression but she covered it quickly. "We'll rest at night- only as much as we need."

"Team SNOW will be on point," Stryker said, hefting her weapon onto one shoulder. "We've got the training for terrain navigation and running along the coast is too open. We'll avoid Grimm as much as we can to keep Salem in the dark about our movements."

"As usual, Team SSSN will bring up the rear." Sun nodded back towards his teammates. "Looks like you, Sage, and Qrow share in Oscar duties for now."

Although offering a halfhearted rebuke, Oscar didn't seem very keen or even capable of actually acting on it, though the grip on his cane tightened while the other coordinations were made. The core of their group would be centered around protecting Oscar- Yang, Sage, Qrow- while the rest of her Team would hang back, Weiss providing glyphs to Team SSN while Ruby kept an eye on everyone. Winter would be forward with Team JNR and Team SNOW while Goodwitch had the right flank and Port the left. A small army on the move through untouched forests, trying to avoid any obstacles or spies along the way, and at least two days' journey from their destination.

"I'll take the first leg." Qrow offered, shifting his weight slightly; at some point after landing, he'd switched to carrying him piggyback. Probably for the best but it would still wear the man out after long enough. "Are we ready?"

Ruby looked over the lot of them before nodding. "Yeah. We're ready."

"SNOW! Move out!" Winter barked out the order, summoning the first in a series of glyphs to speed them on their way. Much to her surprise, the soldiers complied without question, seemingly firmly in their element as they fell into a wedge formation and began leading the way.

Before Yang could turn to follow, a hand grabbed her wrist, and she looked back to see Weiss' expression, caught somewhere between relief and worry. "Thank you. For saving her." Blue eyes flicked up to the sky. "It couldn't have been easy."

"You'd be surprised." She couldn't help the laugh that burst through her lips. "Luckily, I'm  _way_  more stubborn than she is."

"Oh, we're  _well_  aware." Blake smirked, and the glint in amber eyes seemed to convey that she meant something specific, but they didn't have time to dissect it. Perhaps later.

"Seriously." Ruby stepped up beside her, bumping their shoulders together. "Glad you both made it out. Now, let's get going."

"Right." She started running at that, jumping from glyph to glyph to keep up with the others. They had a  _lot_  of ground to cover and a very short time to do it if their guesses were correct.

Yang had a sinking sensation that they were dead on the money.

* * *

They'd made it a pretty decent distance by the time midday rolled around and Weiss' strength began to flag, glyphs splintering or outright breaking a moment after bearing someone's weight. No one could really blame her- she'd ensured all of them reached the ground safely, after all- but it came down to Blake making the call for her to rest, carrying the proud Alpha on her back while they ran a bit without any assistance. When they stopped to eat a quick dinner- consisting of the meager rations a few of them had stuffed into their bags prior to heading to the loading bay- Winter volunteered to provide glyphs for all of them, assuring Ruby she could manage it until nightfall without issue.

Yang frowned at that, watching the way the Alpha moved when she flicked her saber to summon her glyphs.

"You don't think she's telling the truth."

Blinking, she looked over her shoulder to see Oscar's pinched expression. She'd taken him from her uncle after they stopped the first time. "What was that?"

"Sorry, it just seems like you don't believe she can do that." He shrugged, looking away.

The Omega sighed. "It's not that I don't believe her; I know she absolutely  _could_  do it. I just think it'll take more of her strength than she's willing to admit." Lilac eyes watched as Team SNOW set out again, a few moments passing before Winter followed. "I'm starting to think Schnees are genetically predisposed to throwing themselves into harm's way whenever the chance presents itself."

Oscar hummed, grunting when she jumped up onto the first glyph at Ruby's signal. They'd have to run a little closer together than before while still maintaining a decent distance. By either luck or intention, they hadn't run into any trouble as of yet, but they wouldn't want to be grouped up in the even that giant monstrosity from earlier showed up. Uncle Qrow and Sage flanked her, opting to stay close together in the event one of them got tired and had to trade off. Sun gave his teammate a bit of a hard time over it but remained confident their rear guard wouldn't suffer for it, even with Weiss also recovering and Blake occupied carrying her.

Really, she should feel absolutely safe... yet worry gnawed at the back of her mind. She'd become pretty familiar with Winter's glyphs, enough to notice the subtle difference between the sisters' variations, and she could feel with every step that landed how they suffered. Minute cracks that would be hardly noticeable given the circumstances stood out to her keen gaze and while she couldn't very well catch up to the Alpha even if she wanted to, she absolutely knew who  _could_.

"Hey, Rubes," she said, waiting for her sister to catch up on a glyph as the others continued. "We might need to call it early."

Silver eyes glanced around at the glyphs as the others passed them, looking back to see the majority of Team SSSN bringing up the rear. "How much longer do you think we have?"

"At least fifteen miles." Jerking her chin in the direction they were heading, she shifted Oscar a bit higher on her back. "It'll push her to her limit but she can make that for sure. Anything over and she risks draining her aura entirely."

"Yang's right." Blake landed beside them, glancing at Weiss- too drained to be entirely cognizant of the situation- before looking back. "We can't have both of them like this."

Ruby nodded. "Okay. I'll make the call. If anything changes, though, let me know."

The Omegas nodded, the three of them starting to run again, catching up as best they could. With her arms occupied ensuring Oscar didn't fall off and a standing agreement to keep the noise to a minimum, they couldn't use their weapons to speed them on their way. Worst case scenario, Grimm were trailing them, keeping tabs on their movements, which meant they had to leave as little trace of their passing as possible. That, unfortunately, meant they had to pour on the speed to regain their positions in the ragtag formation. For Ruby, that came easily, but Yang found herself breathing rather hard by the time she'd regained her spot beside Sage and Qrow.

"Are you sure I can't try on my own for a bit?" Oscar ventured and she felt a little bad for him, trying to gulp down enough air to respond.

"You can try tomorrow." She grit her teeth briefly, jumping through two low hanging branches and just barely clearing both. The glyphs hovered above ground partly to make traversing the dense forest easier but mostly so they wouldn't leave any trace of their passing by way of disturbed leaves or downtrodden grass. That meant dealing with branches, though. "We'll see how you do when we take a break."

They continued on for a while in silence before he spoke again, his voice a bit stronger this time- while also not entirely his own. "Yang, what makes a good Omega?"

The question threw her off, figuratively and literally as she quite nearly stumbled while landing on the next glyph, taking an extra step to steady herself before continuing. "Ozpin, I swear-"

"He's just trying to help." This time, she could tell it was purely Oscar speaking, which mollified her some, though it still seemed a bit... strange. "I've been wanting to ask for a while but... it never seemed like the right time."

"I'm not the person to ask," she replied, making a snap decision that she wouldn't be able to make the next jump straight ahead and opting to use the one diagonal to her as a means of reaching it, mindful of Sage's position so she didn't startle him. "Ask Blake or Port. I'm... not a very good Omega."

"How can you say you're not a good Omega if you're not the person to ask?" He pressed a little further, what he lacked in physical strength at the moment apparently returning in the form of questions. "You have to have  _some_  idea. Something you're comparing yourself against. So, what is it?"

With a grunt, she took a few more steps, having finally caught her breath enough to give a longer answer. "Okay, fine, I  _do_  know what it takes to be a good Omega. It means being strong- strong enough for others to lean on, to protect them when things get tough, it means taking down anything that threatens your family. Good Omegas- they're the ones who protect the future. Strong, steady, ready, but... soft, too. Enough that you can turn to them when things are rough. Good Omegas... they can make any place feel like home."

They made it a bit further before he hummed. "Well, that doesn't help."

"What do you mean?" Her brow furrowed. "And aren't you too young to be thinking about that stuff anyway?"

"I guess near death experiences make you grow up quick." Although he likely intended for his joke to be a bit lighter, it pulled her lips into a frown. "I mean, I've seen more of Remnant traveling with Qrow and Ruby and your friends... I guess it just makes me think about what sort of life I want to live after this is all over. What kind of mate I should try to find. That sort of stuff. But... it's all pretty confusing."

For a moment, she thought about what his life could've been like otherwise, free to grow up without the dubious honor of housing an immortal penitent living in his head and slowly merging together. Then, she felt compelled to try and help him out. "What's confusing for you?"

"What you described as a good Omega  _is_  you, Yang. So, I'm confused, because I don't know how you're both the exact definition of a good Omega and not at the same time."

"Because I failed." Stopping for a brief moment, she sighed and looked back over her shoulder at him. "That's what I  _used_  to be, but then, I wasn't strong enough. I got beat and everything fell apart."

"That's all it takes to stop being a good Omega? Just one mistake erases everything else?"

Yang pressed her lips into a thin line before starting to run again. "It... I'm trying to get back to being that. It just takes a lot of work."

For a moment, that seemed to mollify him. But then, he squeezed her a little tighter. "Well, don't work  _too_  hard; I think you're already there."

Even if she didn't agree, even if she could still see how short she fell... her lips quirked into a small smile. "I'll keep it in mind, little man. Just do me a favor and take it easy for now. I want to make sure you get to that future you're so confused about."

After that, he seemed content to remain quiet all the way until Ruby called a halt for them. It obviously peeved the Alpha but she acquiesced without an argument, though she didn't bother putting her saber away. Just about everyone looked winded; even the rigorous fitness required for Hunters didn't often demand a sustained run for the majority of a day but their endurance served them well and aura would, hopefully, ease the soreness in their muscles before they resumed their trek. She worried, though, how many days they could keep such a pace before it started to tear them down.

"Good work, everyone. We've made a fair bit of progress." Goodwitch adjusted her glasses, obviously hiding her own fatigue as best she could. "I'd wager another day or two and we'll reach Vale."

"Then, we should be prepared for what we'll find," Ruby said, the somber tone landing gravity to her words. "It took us less than three days to reach Vale. The Commander might've left after us but they've got a straight shot while we had a bit of a detour. Be ready for what we're going to find."

Yang knelt down, letting Oscar regain his feet while turning over the timeline in her head. While a whole day had passed since the news broke, amassing the sort of military force they were expecting would take a fair bit of time and the larger airships didn't have the same speed as the one they used. However, they were dealing with an opponent who possessed not only a decent grasp of tactical advantage but also someone who very likely knew their only means of transport was destroyed. They could very easily send their faster airships ahead as a strike force to begin wearing down Vale's defenses while making it harder for them to link up with Team CFVY. Then again, if they waited until the fourth relic was found, then they'd have a one stop shop, plus the entirety of their forces attacking at once...

Either way, it didn't paint a pretty picture for them.

But at present, she had more pressing concerns, like keeping an eye on Oscar as he started moving around and stretching his legs. He seemed more solid on his feet, steady, but she wouldn't stop worrying after him for a while yet.

"We should establish a perimeter," Winter said, turning away from the area they'd chosen as their camp for the night in a dense copse of trees. "I'll scout... a ways out."

The pause caught her attention, glancing over to see the slight stutter in the Alpha's stride, the way she leaned too heavily, as if keeping her balance presented a problem. Immediately, Yang moved to her side, wrapping an arm around the woman's waist.

"Let someone else do that." Grabbing her wrist, the Omega slung Winter's arm over her broad shoulders, forcing her to bear most of the woman's weight. "You've done enough for now."

"That's our song, SNOW!" Stryker's voice raised enough that she caught her team's attention. "On me, double time!"

Although none of them looked exactly  _pleased_  by the turn of events, they hustled to their team leader's side before falling into a single file line, weaving their way through the underbrush to begin their appointed mission. Yang lost track of which direction they went, more concerned with steering Winter towards a rock to get her some well deserved rest than what the others did. In the back of her mind, she acknowledged it was a good idea... but she also highly doubted any Grimm would try to delay them further. Even with as much progress as they'd made, if the relic remained well hidden, Salem would  _need_ them to find it before she'd allow the Commander to begin their siege. If anything, they were being watched closely by unseen eyes, but they'd likely never find where the creatures hid.

"I'll be fine." The Alpha sat down when directed but kept her gaze turned away, as if trying to hide her expression and exhaustion. The tremble in her shoulders, however, gave her away, and her hands didn't look as steady as it should when she reached up to brush back her bangs and adjust her bun. "You needn't worry after me."

"Yeah, I do," she replied, kneeling down to try and catch the woman's eye. They'd never be mates- never be more than comrades-in-arms and allies- and she was beginning to accept that. But it wouldn't stop her anymore. "You pushed yourself hard today. I need you to be honest with me.  _Will_  you be okay?"

For a moment, Winter met her gaze and something flashed in her eyes but her expression remained cold, impassive. "My aura will recover; I didn't push myself as hard as Weiss did. By morning, I'll be back at full strength."

"Good." Getting back to her feet, she put a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Rest for now. I'll see what I can grab for food."

As she turned, a hand around her wrist stopped her and she looked back to find the Alpha looking at the ground again, unable to meet her gaze. "Thank you. For your concern and forcing me to abandon the ship. You were right; I should've found a way to disembark with the others."

_I'll always go back for you._

By the barest margins, she kept the words locked in her heart. Accepting her feelings would never be returned, that was one thing, but she'd given a piece of herself to the Alpha- a piece she would never get back.

"Just don't be stubborn like that again," she said instead, voice soft. "We're only going to succeed if we have each other. We can't throw ourselves away when there's a better option. Not one of us."

"You're right." Winter looked up at her and smiled, allowing some of her exhaustion to shine through. "Make sure you get enough food for both of us. I'll not have you skipping a meal for my sake."

Summoning a small smile, she nodded and continued on her way, waiting until she was able to hide it to rub at her wrist. She couldn't feel it- her prosthetic wouldn't allow- but her mind could almost trick her into thinking she  _could_  feel the touch and her smile grew a little wider. Perhaps it was high time she took a page from Weiss' book. If she couldn't be the woman's mate, she'd be the most dependable friend she could ever have.

That had to count for something.

* * *

Yang sighed, disconnecting her prosthetic and trying to settle against the hard ground. She'd slept out in the field several times before but usually with at least her pack to act as a pillow. Not having any support for her neck meant she'd likely wake up sore. On the list of things weighing down her mind, however, it ranked pretty low; although the military rations they'd divided between the lot of them had sufficed for their dinner, they'd probably have to start rationing soon, unless they wanted to take a detour for a bit of hunting. Considering how precious time seemed to be, they likely wouldn't have that luxury.

Mentally, she began the rather morbid task of assessing who would need the most food. Oscar and Ruby, of course, sat at the top of the list- one was still recovering and young besides while the other happened to be instrumental to the success of their overall goal, not to mention her sister- and next, she slotted the Alphas. Winter, Weiss, and Goodwitch were their most versatile combatants and the former two absolutely necessary to cut down the length of their trek, while Sun, Scarlet, and Qrow were strong fighters on their own and could defend the group if need be. Blake next- purely because Weiss could become distracted by her mate's declining health- and then the Betas- Ren, Nora, Neptune, Oswald, and Nigel. Towards the bottom, however, things got tricky; Blake would likely object hotly to being ranked so high but could eventually be convinced but Port would absolutely  _not_  want to be anywhere except at the bottom of the list, likely citing his age as a suitable reason that, if any of them should go hungry, it should start with him. Sage, though quiet, also wouldn't like the idea of not being at the bottom; after being on a team with  _two_  Alphas, he had a tendency to take the brunt of the care onto himself, keeping an eye out not only for his partner but his team leader more often than not. From her perspective, Yang thought she belonged at the bottom of the list, simply because, well, she had a bit of experience on that front. Though years ago, she remembered the months immediately following Summer's death, how Dad had shut down briefly, devastated by the loss of his mate. Now, wiser than she was as a child, she understood he'd lost not one but  _two_ , through different means, and couldn't blame him for being hardly functional as he processed his grief. Even as young as she was, the Omega understood she had to share in the burden, and she'd always made sure Ruby ate, at the very least.

A frown touched her lips. Some part of her recognized that the dire situation could only get worse from this point if they allowed carelessness to snatch their attention away.

"Yang."

Blinking, she looked to the side, noting as Wisteria knelt down beside her. Team SNOW had returned from scouting the perimeter shortly before they'd divided up what resources they had, offering a few more rations to the pile; after listening to their report, Ruby made the call that they wouldn't need guards posted during the night. Out in the middle of the forest, their only concern came in the form of Grimm, and they had the relics to keep them at bay. With no sign of any humans or Faunus in the surrounding area, they could all get the rest they needed.

"What's up?" She hadn't interacted with the woman much- none of Team Snow, really, with the exception of their leader, and just that acknowledgement made her wince, having tried valiantly to bury her knowledge of how well she  _did_  know the Alpha- but gave her the benefit of the doubt as she reached into the pocket of her uniform and pulled out some familiar pill bottles.

"I didn't find an appropriate time to return these to you before." She held them out in the palm of her hand. "I found them in the washroom on the ship."

Slowly, she reached over and collected them up, her frown deepening. The little bottles Rudy had given her before she'd left the Atlesian base. "I... must've left them in that Specialist uniform. Thanks."

Wisteria nodded but didn't quite leave just yet, obviously weighing something carefully before speaking. "What you did, going back for the Specialist... that was very brave. Stupid, but brave."

"Thanks. I think."

She rolled the pill bottles around in her hand before sitting up, attaching her prosthetic again so she could pop open the suppressant one. Silently, Wisteria offered her the canteen usually kept on her hip, which seemed to have been recently filled, and she took it with a murmur of appreciation. Given the higher dose, she only took the one, grimacing as it slid down her throat. Generally speaking, she hated medication, but this would at least serve a worthy purpose: namely, she  _definitely_  wouldn't be going into heat again any time soon and it would make her ability to be swayed by the scents of others minuscule.

"I misspoke." The Omega quirked a brow, regarding the other woman with a puzzled expression. "I said it was stupid but... I would rather say you're stupid than admit I miscalculated. That's... a failing of mine."

Yang, somehow, felt even  _more_  confused than before. "Miscalculated?"

"I deemed the Specialist wasn't mission critical personnel." Her gaze darted over to Ruby, already sound asleep just a few feet away, beside Weiss, while Blake sat near them, amber eyes heavy lidded but still vigilant. "The majority of us are expendable. Ruby and Oscar aren't. As long as they remain safe, the rest of us can be sacrificed for the good of the mission."

At first, the words unnerved her, and she quite nearly snapped at the woman's callous tone. Only two things stopped her: Wisteria had already admitted she'd made a mistake and every word framed their situation as a military mission. Winter could be blunt and cold at times when in that mindset and it took quite a few weeks for her to break out of it.

"So, because Winter's glyphs are useful, she's mission critical now, huh?" She laid back down, taking off her prosthetic yet again and setting it beside her. "People are more than their abilities, ya know."

"Perhaps." The woman hummed. "Were I in the Specialist's boots, I would've made the same choice. Stay with the ship, draw the enemy away, and give the others a chance at a safer landing." Then, a shrug. "It makes me wonder if I would've survived the selection process."

"Selection for what?"

"The Specialist program. Our assignment to aid you superseded our standing orders. Were it not for this clandestine war, I'd be going through Specialist training." Wisteria laid down, gaze turned towards the stars. "If I asked, do you think the Specialist would know? If I would've made it, I mean."

Yang made a contemplative noise, tracing the constellations high overhead. "She'd give you an answer, at least. It might not be the one you want to hear."

"Maybe what I want to hear and what I need to hear are two different things."

"Yeah. I get that." She sighed. "For what it's worth, Winter said I might've been a Specialist if I was born in Atlas."

"She's right but that doesn't help me. You're  _obviously_  Specialist material."

Her brow furrowed and she turned her head. "Obviously?"

"Of course. You didn't notice?" Wisteria turned her head and met her gaze with a stone faced expression. "You told us you were going back for the Specialist in the middle of a battle we couldn't win when the rest of us were retreating- a highly inadvisable plan  _at best_ \- and not one person tried to stop you. The only person to even consider it is the silver eyed warrior, and not even she actually  _did it_." Turning her gaze back skyward, the woman closed her eyes. "Only an idiot would argue with an Omega Specialist."

While she didn't quite know what to do with that information, Yang hadn't really thought of it in those terms. In the heat of the moment, the idea that someone might try to dissuade her aside from Ruby hadn't even occurred to her, no matter how stupid her idea happened to seem to others in the moment. It was just... what she had to do.

She did remember, though, when Winter had spoken of Omega Specialists and the amount of respect they were given in the military. It probably explained why the Alpha hadn't argued with her when she demanded they abandon the airship together.

Well, whatever worked, she supposed.


	15. Perseverance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update's a little late- real life's been hell- but it's here.

For the second day in a row, Yang found herself startled awake- this time, by the sounds of combat. Looking around, she did a quick count in her head but found that quickly derailed by the realization that Weiss was missing, Blake's frantic expression indicating she had little idea where the Alpha went, either. Ruby seemed to realize their teammate was missing at the same time, the three of them jumping to their feet and racing towards the noise. Whatever- or whoever- it was, they weren't making a ton of noise, so definitely not a Grimm, but with Salem's minions multiplying in the shadows...

When Yang and the others burst through the line of trees into a small clearing, however, she dearly  _wished_  it was an enemy blocking her path.

"Professor Goodwitch?" Ruby seemed as perplexed as the rest of them felt, watching the Alpha holding out an arm to prevent them from interfering. Beyond, Winter and Weiss were locked in some manner of fight- swords only, no glyphs or summons, but both using their full strength. Both of the elder sister's blades caught the early morning light while the younger used her heavier guard to deflect, a nearly even match were it not for the former's strength a considerable factor. Given the state of both of them, they'd been at it for a while but had only recently raised the stakes to their present level, both so consumed by the fight that neither seemed aware of their audience. "What the hell-"

"Alpha's challenge," she replied, the tone of her voice clearly indicated she disapproved of their timing. However, unless  _she_  issued a challenge of her own, she couldn't very well stop it. "We can't interfere."

 _"We_  can't." Silver eyes flashed to Blake and Yang.

The partners exchanged a look and nodded; while other Alphas couldn't interfere with each other without good reason, an Alpha's mate had a great deal more freedom in that regard, and Omegas in general had a bit more clout,  _especially_  when it came to situations like this one.

As one, the two Omegas darted forward, inserting themselves between the sisters when they broke apart to take a breather before renewing their struggle. Yang stood her ground against Winter, Blake at her back doing the same for Weiss, and both Alphas froze when confronted with the obstacle. It looked, for the briefest of moments, like Winter might try dodging around her to continue the fight, but then her shoulders dropped as she lowered her gaze.

"The challenge stands," she said, voice tight as she replaced the dagger in her saber's hilt, then put the blade on her hip. "I will not hear one more word on it."

"Fine," Weiss replied, obviously furious with the outcome but abiding it all the same.

But Yang never took her eyes off Winter, trying to read the tension in her shoulders, the look in her eyes- the woman seemed eager to leave the clearing but hadn't made a move to do so as of yet. And she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out why.

"Do either of you  _really_  think now is the time for this?" Ruby started in, frustration coloring her tone. "Both of you,  _together,_  are our best hope of reaching Vale before the city's under siege, and you're both out here fighting  _each other_?"

"We weren't using glyphs. Or aura." Weiss tried to defend herself, apparently, but the way her voice tapered off likely meant her mate didn't think she had much justification. "Just- it's a challenge-"

"Regardless of custom or protocol, there are higher stakes," Goodwitch said, earning a sharp look from Winter before the Alpha turned her back and began stalking off.

Seeing as she didn't seem keen on addressing the situation, lilac eyes fell on her former Professor heavily. "Kinda hypocritical for you to reprimand them when  _you_  tried stopping us."

"I wasn't excluding myself from that." She inclined her head, at least having the presence of mind to look appropriately chagrined. "However, I shouldn't have let me personal thoughts override our mission. Of that, I'm just as guilty."

"Let's hope it doesn't cause any problems." The Beta glanced at all of them, silently encouraging them to put the issue to bed. "We've got a lot of ground to cover today. We should wake up the others."

As the rest of them turned to head back and breakdown what little they'd made for camp- frankly, just burying their degradable trash, seeing as they didn't have access to much else- Blake caught her arm.

"You didn't have to do that, you know." She nodded towards her mate, who was busy being chastised by Ruby. "Weiss would've stopped no matter what and I don't think Winter would've struck me with my back turned. Only one of us had to get between them for the fight to end."

"Yeah, I know." She bristled, a little annoyed that her partner thought for even a moment she'd intervened because she doubted either Alpha. "The moment  _either_  of us stepped in, they would've stopped. Hell,  _Goodwitch_  could've stopped 'em if she'd tried. It wasn't about that." She made a gesture towards where the others were making noise, waking up and moving around. "They need to understand that none of us will allow for them to settle this right now; you know they're stubborn and raised to read through legalese. If there's anyone who's got the motivation and inclination to find a loophole, it's those two trying to settle a challenge."

"Hey, I believe you. But you might want to make that clear to Winter." The Faunus glanced away, shrugging slightly. "Unconcerned Omegas don't usually step into an Alpha's challenge like that."

She opened her mouth to say something but stopped short. As much as it annoyed her, Blake had a point. "I'll mention it... but she knows."

One brow arched. "Does she?"

Without another word, her partner turned to head towards the others, leaving her standing in the clearing alone. Her lips pressed into a thin line, brows furrowing. Truthfully, she couldn't be  _certain_  Winter understood where she was coming from... and maybe she really shouldn't leave that to chance.

Squaring her shoulders, she moved back into the trees, relying on sight and sound to find the Alpha; with the suppressant running through her system, she couldn't quite catch scents as easily. While just about everyone seemed mildly curious about where they'd been, they wisely kept their questions to themselves and paid more attention to getting ready for the day's travel rather than ferreting out details. By the time she found the woman- posture stiff and arms crossed, staring out in the direction they'd be heading- Yang had run through a couple of ways to explain herself in her head before settling on the one she thought would work best.

"Hey." She waited until the Alpha turned towards her before continuing. "You know I only stepped in because we really don't have the time for it, right? It's not because I actually thought you'd continue the challenge."

For a moment, Winter seemed confused but then she nodded. "Of course. Naturally."

"Did Weiss manage to hit you?" Internally, she winced. No matter what spawned the concern, she still had to consider that it might be construed as doubting the woman's abilities.

"No." The Alpha paused before making a thoughtful hum. "She's progressed so far, though. She didn't land a strike purely because she wasn't  _trying_  to strike me; we'd agreed on the first to force the other to yield, to avoid wasting aura. Were it a true fight, I'm not entirely sure I would've won. In time, she'll surpass me." She chuckled, a short and clipped sound. "I hope to one day live up to her example."

"Yeah... I know how you feel." She nodded, scratching at her neck. "I mean... I look at Ruby and think, ya know, she's my hero. But... she's still looking up to me, too. I gotta keep that in mind." For a moment, she thought about leaving it at that but decided to push a little further. Even if she didn't understand the specifics, she at least had the idea that whatever prompted the challenges involved her somehow. That gave her a vested interest in voicing her thoughts about the matter. "And I know that interfering with challenges isn't my, uh, prerogative, but... whatever you two are arguing about? You're too important to each other to risk losing your sister over it."

From the corner of her eye, she could see the way Winter started, the shift in her posture. She couldn't quite look up and see the woman's expression, a bit too worried of what she might find, but it definitely seemed like the Alpha didn't expect her to be quite  _that_  blunt.

"We've quarreled before; this is hardly the first time we've challenged each other. I appreciate your concern, though." Then, a hand landed on her shoulder- a comforting touch that she almost leaned into, refraining by the barest margins. "But, for what it's worth... there are things in this world I would fight the entirety of the Atlesian military over.  _This_  is one of those things." Drawing herself up to her full height, she withdrew her hand. "Weiss and I will never see eye-to-eye on this, I fear. Eventually, I believe she'll concede the fight purely to save both of us the headache but, until then, we'll continue fighting over it." A scoff. "It seems I've yet to grasp the softer things. I... only know conflict."

Before Winter could walk away, she reached out, returning the favor by grabbing the woman's shoulder and stopping her. When blue eyes met hers, she offered a soft smile. "One day, when this is all over, I'll give you a crash course. Softer Things one-oh-one."

"... I'd like that." The Alpha chuckled, looking away. "You should check on Oscar. We'll be moving out soon and he'll be keen on trying to move around on his own. I doubt that's a good idea just yet, considering how far we have to travel."

"You're right." She turned, prepared to go find him and half expecting Uncle Qrow to have already started in on him in that regard.

Even if he seemed to be recovering, the pace they'd be keeping would push them all to their limits, and his were substantially lower than theirs. He didn't have the years of training to be either a Hunter or a soldier to strengthen his constitution and, while farming provided its own boons in some respects- he could probably help them forage for food that wouldn't kill them, now that she thought on it- being imbued with Ozpin's consciousness didn't exactly transfer much else to him. Framing that in a way that didn't make him feel bad, though, would be something either she or Sage would have to address. For all his progress with this recent bout of sobriety he seemed to be trying out, Qrow still had a tendency to be, well... Qrow.

Words swirled in her head, different things she really  _wanted_  to say but acknowledged now wasn't the time for them. Yet, she really couldn't help herself.

"Winter?" She waited until the woman looked her way before continuing. "I get that there are things worth fighting for... just remember, you don't have to fight alone. You'll always have me watching your back."

The Alpha nodded, her tone reverential when she spoke. "And I will  _always_  have yours."

Yang smiled, turning away and leaving the woman to make her preparations for the day's journey. Even if it wasn't the bond she hoped for, the one they shared remained strong.

She could take comfort in that.

* * *

The pace they kept was brutal. With or without Oscar, she found herself pouring everything she had into moving just to keep up. All of them, each and every one, were breathing heavily by the time they stopped at midday and decimated what remained of their food stock, even the terrible pudding tasting like salvation as their bodies desperately sought any manner of nourishment. The Omega checked up on the others as best she could with her legs feeling like jelly, highly aware they had much further to go- at least another full day- before they'd be anywhere near Vale's outskirts.

It didn't exactly make the running any easier.

"How are you holding up?" She took a knee besides Sage, who'd spent most of the morning carrying Oscar.

"Better than I expected, honestly." He rubbed at his right knee while grimacing. "Not a big fan of cardio."

"I hear ya." She jerked her head. "I'll take him when we start up again. Tomorrow, we'll see if he can go it on his own but I think he needs another day of rest."

The other Omega ran a hand through his bright green hair, shaking his head. "Has it been this bad the whole time? Since the Festival, I mean."

"Well, it hasn't been a picnic." Yang shrugged, glancing back at her team. "I spent a while down, dealing with my own stuff, but from Ruby's told me? Yeah. It's been bad ever since Beacon fell. All over Remnant, Grimm are getting bolder, and the coordinated attacks have been... disastrous. To put it lightly. Entire villages lost with no chance of escape."

"My village holed up; recalled our Hunters, protected our own. Until Neptune contacted me, I thought that's what everyone was doing, just looking after their own." His gaze roamed over the others. "I didn't think..."

"Hey, no one expected for there to be a mother of Grimm abomination trying to destroy every sentient creature on the planet." Putting a hand on his shoulder, she gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Now that we  _do_ , we're doing something about it. Hindsight might be twenty, twenty, but it doesn't erase the facts of the moment. We've done the best we can up until now."

He nodded, getting to his feet. "Once this is all over, we need to figure out a way of preventing this from happening again."

"When we succeed, it won't," she said. "But I get what you mean. The kingdoms kinda got caught up in doing their own things for a while, huh? Secrets and lies and protecting the smallest parts rather than the whole."

"Yeah." Squatting down, he started stretching out his thighs and calves. "We stopped working together. Got complacent. The kingdoms have to work  _together_... or we're just going to keep suffering tragedy after tragedy."

She thought about all the things Sage didn't know- like how most of their history was written to cover up this war between Salem and Ozpin- but opted to leave it alone for the moment. They had enough on their plate at the moment; no need to add even more to it.

"Don't worry, big guy; once we get rid of Salem, we'll grab the whole world by the ear. We'll  _make_  them listen."

He smirked. "Now  _that's_  a plan."

Yang smiled back, then turned and checked on Nora and Ren, both of whom seemed to be doing pretty well all things considered. Of their group, the Beta duo tended towards the more fit side and had no problems keeping up and Jaune seemed surprisingly adept at it himself. He made an offhand joke at needing to be good at running away, since he wasn't always a good fighter, and she rolled her eyes while shoving lightly at his shoulder. Goodwitch... wisely avoided her, obviously not keen on earning anymore ire from the remainder of Team RWBY.

"Doing your rounds?" She paused, glancing over at a smiling Nigel. "Don't let me stop you."

"Well, someone's gotta keep an eye on this group." Yang nodded to indicate the whole lot of them as everyone gathered, preparing to get back on the move. "How's Team SNOW looking?"

He seemed to mull her question over for a moment before shrugging, straightening out his uniform. "Well, if honesty's the aim, we're holding up probably better than most. Long, hard runs were a nigh daily part of our training and I still hate every minute of it."

That brought a laugh out of her. "Yeah, I like going for a run every now and again, but this is a bit excessive." Her expression turned a bit more serious. "So, I can count on you four not to fall out, right?"

"Absolutely." Then, he looked around before lowering his voice. "By the by, I heard Wisteria talked to you last night. She didn't... uh... like... try to intimidate you or anything, right?"

The Omega raised a brow. "... no?"

"Oh. Good. She can... be pretty intense, sometimes. I'm glad she was at least... cordial?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to realize that no one on Team SNOW knows how to communicate effectively," she said, waiting for a moment before shrugging. "Well, except fro you, I guess."

"Oswald isn't so bad either, for the record." A frown touched his lips. "Though he's been muttering something about 'if Oscar doesn't recover, I'm going to be next' and it's got me a tad worried."

Yang winced. "Unfortunately, I don't think he's wrong. Ozpin does seem to favor jumping into the bodies of people with some manner of 'O' name. It's a... theme for him, I guess."

"Please don't say that where he can hear it; he's paranoid enough." Stroking along his mustache, Nigel let out a sigh. "I suppose that's more than enough motivation to keep an eye on the poor boy. Though... is he going to be staying with us until the end? I mean-"

"That hasn't been decided." She waved a hand. "We've been teaching him some stuff on the side but he's far from a Hunter. It might be safer to leave him in Vale... but with Ozpin chilling in his head, we might need whatever information he's got." A shake of her head. "Just because he says he told us everything doesn't mean he actually  _did_."

"Right. Make sense. Well. I mean, as much sense as any of this makes." He pressed his lips into a thin line and shook his head. "You... ever wonder what we're going to do once this is all over?"

"All the time," she replied, looking away briefly. All her thoughts to the future recently were... well, not great to say the least. Grappling with her injury had put a damper on any thoughts she might've had for her prospects and her failed heat with Winter tore what hopes she'd built into shreds. With the added burden of Ruby potentially dying, the future just didn't seem like something she wanted to entertain at present. "I try not to as much anymore; we've got too much going on at the moment to be distracted by that."

Nigel nodded, scratching at the back of his head. "You've got a point. I guess I just... this whole thing's  _really_  made me reconsider joining the military. I was gonna ask the Specialist if she thought General Ironwood would release me from duty once this got resolved but... guess that's not going to happen now."

"Well, by the sounds of it, that Commander isn't planning on surviving this. I'm sure whoever takes over next won't even know about where Team SNOW went. You might even get rolled up with those presumed dead." The Omega gave a noncommittal hand wave. "A dead man can reinvent himself all sorts of ways, ya know."

Unfortunately, the Beta didn't seem too keen on that. "I'd rather, ya know, be able to go home though, and Atlas' security is... pretty good."

She raised a brow while crossing her arms. "You...  _do_  remember we stole airships and infiltrated both Atlas  _and_  Atlesian bases, right? Those are things we did. You were  _there_  for some of that."

"Yeah, and that's what  _you_  lot can pull off." He put his hands up in surrender. "I've already accepted that everyone associated with this insanity is  _far_  more terrifying than I could ever dream of becoming! I couldn't pull off that kinda stuff without some  _serious_  help!"

Yang shifted her weight. "And what are we, chopped liver?"

For a moment, Nigel just stared at her. "Are you... saying you'd help me get back into Atlas?"

"Why wouldn't I?" When he not so subtly looked over at his team leader, she rolled her eyes. "Look, Stryker's an ass, but that's on her. Until  _you_  piss me off, you don't need to worry about it." She paused. "Unless you could somehow make her, ya know,  _stop_  being an ass."

"I'm a man, not a miracle worker," the Beta replied immediately, prompting both of them to laugh. "I'll keep it in mind, though."

"I appreciate it."

"Alright, everyone." Ruby called out while hefting Crescent Rose onto her shoulder. "Let's get a move on!"

With that, they parted ways, the Omega heading over to coax a reluctant Oscar onto her back while Nigel went to join his team. Already, her muscles protested the idea of another hard run but they really didn't have much of a choice.

"Hey, buddy, you know anything about, like, foraging?"

"I mean, I know the bare essentials for telling the difference between what's edible and what's poisonous. Don't they cover than in Hunter training?"

"They do in second year. So-"

"Okay, yeah, nevermind." He chuckled. "I can help, but it'll be better if we look before sunset. Low light's going to make it harder for me to tell."

"Alright," she replied, waiting for the signal before hopping onto the glyphs to resume their journey.

* * *

By the time they stopped for their next break, her entire body protested the very thought of moving, and it didn't look like she was the only one. Weiss and Winter both looked pale, moreso than usual, their eyes glazed over as they mechanically followed each other until Blake sat them both down. Ruby, thanks in large part to her semblance, had it better off than the others and volunteered to go off with Oscar to find them some food while everyone else tried to rest while Blake rattled off what information she could about the local plant life, which berries to avoid and such. She'd spent a fair amount of time outside the safety of the kingdoms.

But something nagged at the back of her mind, keeping her from sitting down quite yet. Instead, she turned her attention to the nearest tree and started to climb.

"Yang? What are you doing?" She looked down to see Blake watching her, obviously worried as her ears flicked around, listening to the light groaning of their companions.

"Getting an idea of where we are." Moving higher, she reached a decent vantage point after breaking through the treetops and looked around, almost instantly feeling a heavy weight settle on her shoulders. "Oh, no."

In the distance, she could see thick columns of black smoke rising over the decimated skyline of Vale. The ruined remains of Mountain Glenn stood as a jagged scar framing the city on one side while the fallen arena lay crumbling just outside the outskirts on the other, the sea acting as the most pristine border to the city, and even it was littered with the destroyed remains of Atlesian airships brought down during the Fall. Though she couldn't rightly tell with the sun still high above the horizon, she had a sinking feeling the city would be dark once it set. Considering the distance, she couldn't make out anything specific, but the vague shapes moving about  _had_  to be Grimm, and a staggering number still flying and crawling over the whole city.

Climbing back down, she dropped to the ground and sighed heavily, looking over at her partner.

Feline ears laid back against her skull. "That bad?"

"The good news is, we can back off our pace a bit." Her shoulders fell. "Bad news is, we probably shouldn't expect a nice welcome party."

"When was the last time Ruby heard from Coco?" The Faunus got to her feet, looking down at the two Alphas who seemed entirely zoned out, likely distancing themselves from the agony of wearing their aura so low.

"A few days ago?" She shrugged. "Even if they're still in the city, they've probably got their hands full defending what they've got. I wouldn't expect them to be able to come out to meet us, which means we're going to be fighting our way to them."

Pointedly, Blake looked around; while both Schnees seemed to be the most winded, no one was at one hundred percent and they likely wouldn't have much time to recuperate before diving headfirst into the fray. "We're walking a razor's edge here, Yang. We slow down too much, we'll get sandwiched between two groups of merciless enemies. We keep this pace, the one enemy we've got will be able to destroy us."

"Let's hope Ruby's got a plan." A sigh slipped through her lips as she ran a hand through her hair, wincing slightly as a few strands caught in the grooves of her prosthetic. Seems she hadn't quite broken the habit of using her right instead of her left. "Otherwise, we're in for a rough time."

Amber eyes glanced down to her mate before she stepped away and lowered her voice. "They're in no condition to fight. Do you think we have time to rest now?"

"We're still too far off." Pressing her lips into a thin line, she raced through every little detail she'd gleaned and everything she knew about Vale. Then, she realized there was someone who might have a better idea. "I'm going to ask Goodwitch. Maybe she knows a better way into the city. Keep an eye on them for now, try to keep them still. Whatever rest they can get, they'll need it."

Keenly, she recalled the stress and strain of using her semblance to alter her appearance when they infiltrated the Atlesian base; they were under considerably more stress and strain, maintaining enough glyphs for the whole group to use and imbuing them with the speed boost needed to make the trek as quickly as they did. Lacking their summons, the group would be hard pressed to make it into the city without one helluva fight, and they didn't have the time or energy to waste on that. Better to slip in and fight both the Grimm horde still infesting the city and the Commander when they showed up at the same time. Overwhelming odds, probably, but a more even fight if they could link up with the city's defenders.

"Hey." She called out to the Alpha as she broke off a quiet conversation with Port to acknowledge Yang. "Is there any way to enter the city that  _won't_  bring the Grimm down on our heads?"

"Not particularly." The woman winced. "Peter and I were just discussing it; we've managed our movements by keeping to small groups, no more than three people. With the concentration of negative energy around the arena, the Grimm have a difficult time sensing only a few people. However, splitting ourselves down is dangerous in and of itself, in the event we run afoul."

"There's no good way to split it," Port said, his voice a deep rumble, completely absent his usual boisterous inflection. "With the truth of our predicament weighing so heavily on everyone, we stand a chance of attracting the Grimm anyway, and with Oscar in his current state, we're going to be hard pressed to defend ourselves no matter what. While Miss Rose's silver eyes could carve a path for us, it could also bring some... unwanted attention."

Yang's brows furrowed. Admittedly, she'd only been half listening when they initially explained the situation back in Vale, trying too hard to block out the images that kept flashing in her mind. Her lack of attentiveness didn't spark a chiding remark, thankfully.

"As I'm sure you've gathered, that... Adam character wasn't the most attentive leader, and he abandoned some of his White Fang members when they pulled out of Vale after the Fall." Goodwitch's expression soured. "While the majority have kept away from the defenders who remained, some have been aggressive, especially when supplies run low. Scrounging from the bones of a dead city likely hasn't left them in a cooperative mood."

"So, even if we dodge the Grimm, we've still got enemies within the city. Great." She pushed a breath out, glancing down at her prosthetic and clenching her fist. "Well, the lesser of two evils. I'll let Ruby know. We're probably going to have to take a gamble, fry the Grimm, and fight the White Fang."

"We're ready for a fight regardless." He stroked at his mustache, nodding to himself. "Indeed, it seems like that's all there is between us and our goal: fight after fight. I hope history remembers this struggle for what it is."

Goodwitch put a hand on his shoulder. "We can ensure that after it's over. We must remain focused on the task at hand."

"Fighting our way into a war zone, right." Port shook his head. "This could turn very sour,  _very_  quickly."

"If worse comes to worst, Port, Qrow, and I will act as a distraction." Her lips curled into a frown, gaze darting away briefly. "Between the three of us, we've got a large enough concentration of negative energy to attract the Grimm. With the addition of one more, we'd certainly provide cover for the rest."

Immediately, Yang grit her teeth and growled. "Winter's not strong enough to take on a fight like that."

It made the most sense- with the loss of General Ironwood fresh on her mind, the Alpha likely had a considerably bleaker outlook than the rest of them- but she absolutely refused to accept that the woman should be used as bait, especially in her current state. At full strength, she could probably fight off the whole horde by herself, but not after the past two days of pouring all her energy into ferrying them across miles of dense forest.

Goodwitch met her gaze evenly, voice cool and calm. "That's not your decision to make."

"It's not yours either," she replied, bristling. "Ruby'll figure something out."

"I dearly hope she does."

Turning, the Omega left before an argument began. The worst part was, if Winter heard the idea, she'd absolutely go along with it; Wisteria's explanation of 'mission critical personnel' filled in a  _lot_  of the blanks when it came to some of the Alpha's decisions. She'd likely do it just to save her sister from unnecessary fighting but hopefully Ruby would be able to formulate a plan that didn't rely on potentially sacrificing a few for the sake of the many. While they'd confronted the truth that they'd likely lose more friends along the way, that didn't mean they'd stop trying to pull everyone through.

"Yang?" She came to a stop, blinking and looking around to find her sister holding her cape in one hand, obviously using it to carry whatever manner of food she and Oscar had found. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I just... took a look around. We're getting close to the city."

"How close?"

"I think you'd better see for yourself." She gestured towards the treetops. "It's not going to be easy getting in."

Kneeling down, the Beta unclasped her cloak, waving over Blake and Jaune to help distribute the berries and wild fruit they'd found. Not much of a meal but better than starving. As the two started that task, the sisters took to the trees, and a memory briefly flashed in the back of her mind of them as kids in Patch. Climbing trees, fighting imaginary enemies, having wild adventures... things used to be so simple. By the time they reached as high as she'd gone before, the silence between them weighed heavily.

"Let me guess; you already talked to Professor Goodwitch."

"Yeah. It's not looking pretty, Rubes." She turned her head, looking at her sister's expression- deep in thought, weighing the options, considering. "You think you can use those eyes? Cut us a path through?"

"That might draw-"

"Some unwanted attention, I know, but I think we've got a better chance against scavengers than Grimm. We obviously don't have anything they'd want anyway."

"Except weapons and dust, both of which are probably going to be highly valuable to people trapped in a crumbling city." Fingers brushed along Crescent Rose settled at the small of her back. "And getting  _to_  the city is only part of the problem. We still need to find the relic."

"Do you know where it is?"

"Yeah. It's in the Emerald Forest."

"On the  _other_  side of the city, huh?" She sighed. "Great." When she looked up, she recognized her sister's expression and frowned. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we need a distraction." Ruby nodded towards the city. "We're far enough away now that it's not a problem but those Grimm are going to catch onto us if we stay grouped up. We need to break into smaller groups."

Her heart lept into her throat. "How small?" The way the Beta started climbing down while ignoring the question didn't set her at ease in the slightest. "Ruby-"

"Yang." Silver eyes met hers, pleading. "Trust me."

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she nodded. "Okay."

They both descended, the creeping feeling that she would come to regret that acquiescence gnawing at the back of her mind. By the time they reached the ground, everyone else had devoured their share of the scavenged food- all save for Weiss and Winter, who were slowly coming back to their senses. They both looked exhausted but the berries and fruit bolstered their strength, at least for the moment. They'd need to find some more substantial food at some point, though- the sooner, the better.

"Listen up." Ruby swept her gaze over everyone, taking a moment to obviously steel her nerves. That didn't exactly make Yang feel better about what she had planned. "We're nearing the city. Vale's still overrun with Grimm and lingering White Fang members loyal to Adam. We're going to be hard pressed to find friendly faced once we get inside the city limits, so here's what we're going to do. Teams RWBY and JNPR are going to head straight through the city to the Emerald Forest, so we can secure the relic and try to find Team CFVY. Team SNOW and Oscar will stay just outside the city limits, hopefully we can find a defensible position but, barring that, at least far enough away that the Grimm shouldn't notice them. Team SSSN, you'll go with Professors Goodwitch and Port, as well as Uncle Qrow and Winter to draw the Grimm away from the rest of us." She paused. "I don't  _like_  the idea of splitting up, but I also think it's the only way we're going to succeed. The relics can ward off the Grimm to an extent but not what we'd need to make it through the city, and they'll likely do whatever they can to block our path. That's going to bring more attention to us than we want and slow us down- we can't let that happen."

"So, I should give this to... Oscar, right?" Sun held up his pack, holding Vacuo's relic. "That should give them a bit more defense, right?"

"No." To everyone's surprise, Winter spoke up, pushing herself to her feet. "If we're to act as bait, we should be the most appealing target for the Grimm. They'll be drawn to the energy of the relics, likely so both Terry and Salem know where to find them."

"She has a point." Ruby conceded, slipping her own bag from her shoulders and offering it to the Alpha. "The Grimm shouldn't be able to get  _too_  close, but that didn't stop the ones that attacked us in Atlas; even if it significantly weakens them to be so close to a relic, if it means dealing a blow, they'll do it. Whenever they're in that... hive mind thing, there's no self preservation, only the higher goal."

"How can we be sure that's not exactly what they want?" Yang crossed her arms over her chest, nodding towards the bag. "Fewer people defending the same amount of relics- we're making the assumption the Commander hasn't arrived yet, and that's fine, but Adam was working with Salem's goons before. Whatever White Fang remain in the city, they could just as easily be her puppets, and we're weakening ourselves by splitting up."

"Yang's right." Blake stood up, helping Weiss to her feet. "The White Fang that followed Adam broke away from the main group- they're a splinter cell chasing something that the White Fang doesn't represent. If they think Salem can give them that, they're as good as hers. They could just as easily be taking orders from one of those soul sucking Grimm, just like the Commander."

Ruby drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Honestly, we don't know, and we don't have the time to find out. I've thought about all that, too- that we could just as easily be walking into a trap no matter what we do. So, instead of trying to figure out the perfect plan, we need to figure out one that serves us best." She held up a hand, ticking off the list on her fingers. "One, we need to secure the fourth relic. Two, we need to protect the three we  _do_  have. Three, we need to link up with Team CFVY. Four, we need to be able to regroup and prepare for when the Commander arrives, because there's no way we're reaching Salem's fortress without an airship, and that's a whole  _other_  headache we can figure out later. Right now, we don't have much choice."

Jaune slid his pack from his shoulders, offering it over to Port without a word, his silent approval of the plan grating on Yang's nerves. They  _had_  to see that this wasn't the best option, right? That they were taking too many risks?

But then Blake touched her elbow, the look in amber eyes pleading with her to understand. While the Faunus didn't seem  _enthused_  at the idea, she at least intended to go along with it. "The best we can do is move quickly and make sure everyone rests well tonight."

Her shoulders sagged. "Blake..."

"I know it's not ideal." She glanced at Weiss, who seemed at least cognizant if still unsteady on her feet. "But this is what we're doing."

"Making a plan and sticking to it; that's what we agreed on." Ruby stepped up beside her as the others prepared to move. "I know you're trying to look out for everyone but it's only going to get more dangerous from here." She glanced around, lips drawing into a thoughtful frown. "I'm trying to balance what we need to do with keeping everyone alive. Sometimes, it's going to be a razor's edge."

"Ruby's plan is rather good; it gives us ways of accomplishing multiple objectives at once," Weiss said, doing her best to appear as if she wasn't standing on shaky legs. Considering how far they'd gone on her glyphs, Yang really couldn't be surprised when Blake immediately slipped an arm around her waist, providing her with some much needed support. "Between Winter and the Professors, we have our most experienced combatants grouped together and defending the relics. We really couldn't stack the odds further in our favor."

The Omega sighed, shaking her head. "Then I guess the only thing left to do is start moving. We've still got a ways to hoof it."

Without another word, Blake pulled Weiss onto her back, the proud Alpha putting up a brief argument that was silenced by a look from her mate. Ultimately, the Omega had her best interests in mind and she would need more time to recover than the rest of them, purely due to the extreme strain on her aura. That, of course, made her think of Winter, who'd poured just as much energy if not more into ferrying them across the forest. Although she had the greater wealth of stamina and endurance, she had to be feeling the drain as well.

Not that one would suspect such by looking at her, unless they happened to be especially versed in reading the woman's body language. She already had Ruby's pack settled on her shoulders, standing tall and speaking quietly with Goodwitch, but the subtle hunch to her shoulders spoke of her exhaustion. The Alpha likely felt compelled to keep up the facade to bolster morale but rest would serve her better.

"Yang." She turned her head to see Sage approaching, his head tilting to indicate he wanted to speak to her privately. The two of them stepped aside. "I'm going to take Oscar for this next part."

"What?" A frown touched her lips. "It's my turn, though."

"I know, but... neither of them are looking good. Blake's got the right idea but I don't think Winter would let me carry her. We don't know each other very well and she seems... proud." He glanced the Alpha's way, both of them watching as she shook her head when Qrow said something, waving off whatever suggestion he made. "You got her off that airship, though. She must hold you in high regard."

"We're... good friends," she replied, nodding slowly. "You're right; she needs the rest. I'll bully her into it."

"Good. I'd rather have her well rested when we're playing as bait. I have a feeling we'll need her summons and strength."

"Just remember to trade off with Qrow if you start feeling it." She rubbed at her thigh briefly. "I know I'm going to sleep like a rock tonight, that's for sure."

"Yeah." Sage chuckled, setting his hands on his hips. "This is going to be all the cardio I need for the rest of my life."

Catching movement from the corner of her eye, Yang stepped away so she could block the Alpha's path, earning a curious glance. "You need to rest."

"We're not in much of a position for that."

" _We_  aren't, but I can at least get you a breather." She glanced towards Blake and Weiss, hoping that would be enough to convey her point. "You've spent a lot more energy than the rest of us; you need to start recovering it now if you're going to be in any shape to act as bait tomorrow."

Winter grimaced, looking around at the others- likely hoping someone might be willing to take her side. However, she found just about everyone to be pointedly keeping their attentions focused elsewhere.

"Are you sure this won't overtax you?" Blue eyes scanned over her form. "You have quite the fight ahead of you as well."

"Yeah, but I've barely got a dent in my aura and a few hours of sleep will set me right.  _Yours_  is too low for that."

With a heavy sigh, Winter finally nodded. "Very well. As you wish."

Yang turned, offering her back to the woman, and for a brief moment it occurred to her that she might want to do that. It would exhaust her to ferry the Alpha in a threshold carry, true, but carrying the woman on her back... but then she shook the thoughts away. It didn't matter that she was copying the same actions as Blake and Weiss; it just made the most sense given their situation. It meant nothing.

Yet, when Winter's legs settled on either side of her hips and her arms carefully wrapped around her shoulders... Yang felt a twinge in her chest, the still smoldering flame of the torch she carried. For a brief moment, she couldn't help the soft smile on her lips.

It fled quickly; none of them had the luxury of indulging ill advised crushes at present. Likewise, she couldn't get distracted at present, pushing aside all other thoughts aside from following the others as they set out again. Winter weighed much more than Oscar did but she had the added motivation of not letting the woman worry after her, to provide her with as much rest and comfort as she could.

Hopefully, it would settle her nerves when they parted ways.

* * *

They walked until well past dusk, the slower pace helping only a little. By the time Ruby decided they were close enough to the city, Yang's legs felt like jelly and her arms burned from exertion, but she refused to falter until Winter regained her feet. Unfortunately, that was about the time the last of her strength fled her and she would've kissed the ground, were it not for the Alpha catching her the moment her legs buckled.

"I'll be fine," she said, thankful her voice remained steady but unable to discourage the woman as she picked the Omega up and carried her.

"In time, yes, but right now, you need rest more than I do." Winter knelt down, propping her up against a tree for the moment and checking her over. Once satisfied, she nodded to herself. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Yang sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. It would be pointless to argue- it wasn't like she had anywhere to go, anyway- so she instead tried to let her protesting body relax. Everything she could feel hurt and everything else felt like gelatin. The exhaustion even clouded her mind, making thoughts almost impossible, but she registered when Winter returned and opened her eyes. From somewhere, she'd acquired some more fruit, popping out the dagger from her saber and letting the latter fall to the ground while grabbing the former from midair, using it to slice up the fruit into smaller chunks.

"I'm not invalid, ya know," she said, even as the Alpha stabbed the tip of her dagger into one of the chunks- just enough to pick it up.

"Neither was I, yet you carried me," Winter replied, her voice soft. "Allow me to repay the favor."

Honestly, she didn't have the energy to argue, and her time spent trying to convince Ruby of a different plan meant she didn't grab anything to eat herself the last time they stopped. So, she opened her mouth and ate whatever was offered to her, biting back a moan after the first bite; for all the shit they'd had to put up with thus far, she could at least admit they'd picked the right time of year to do it, the fruits all ripe and juicy, satiating both her hunger  _and_  thirst. She really couldn't ask for anything better.

"Rest while you can, everyone." Ruby paused, looking in the direction of the city. "Tomorrow at sunup, we're splitting up. Hopefully, we'll be back together and one relic heavier by sunset."

A frown curled her lips as she debated whether or not to voice her concerns again. She doubted it would change anyone's mind but...

"It'll be okay." She turned her head, noting the softness in the Alpha's expression and the tone of her voice. "I'll watch over my group the same way you'll watch over yours. We'll link back up and be all the better for it. Don't dedicate energy to fretting over us."

"I'm going to anyway, ya know."

"I do. But at least I can try to assure you."

Exhaling heavily, Yang nodded. "Thanks. Maybe I'm just... worrying too much."

"You're worrying the right amount. We just don't have the luxury of playing it as safe as we want." The woman made a noise after offering the last piece of fruit. "I'll go find more-"

"Don't." While she absolutely  _could_  eat more, she'd gotten enough that hunger wouldn't keep her awake much longer, and her body needed the rest. "I'm just gonna... sleep for a bit."

"Very well." Though she objected halfheartedly, Winter helped her lie down, finding a comfortable spot and even offering her jacket as a makeshift pillow, making an offhand remark on the stifling heat of Vale. Yang didn't exactly believe that to be the case but neither did she have the strength to remain awake much longer, instead drifting off into a blissfully deep sleep.


	16. Gain and Loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this is late; work is kicking my ass something fierce and I never know what day of the week it is. Here's the last chapter for a while as I try to survive work and get the next section of the story written out.

By some miracle, Yang managed to awaken not to an alarm or the sounds of combat. A hand lightly shaking her shoulder roused her instead and she scrubbed at her eyes while blinking blearily in the early dawn light, groaning at the weak ache in her legs and arms. She hadn't slept that hard in a while but she'd mostly recovered during the course of the night, thankfully. A few stretches and some conscious aura usage, then she'd be ready to go.

"Did you sleep well?"

She rolled onto her back and noted Winter kneeling down beside her. "Yeah. You?"

The Alpha nodded, then got to her feet. "Ruby wants us to move out soon but I thought you should rest as much as possible."

"Well, I feel great," she said, slowly getting up and allowing the fire of her aura to flow through her body and chase away the last of her pain. "I might've pushed myself a bit too hard yesterday but I should be ready."

Winter took a step back, remaining silent for a moment before turning away. "I'm glad you're recovered. You'll need your strength today."

"Yeah..." For a moment, she thought about leaving it at that and joining the rest of her team, but she couldn't help but try to appeal one last time. "How do you feel about this whole plan, by the way?"

"I think it's the best we can do given the circumstances." She glanced down at her saber, then at the straps of Ruby's pack on her shoulder. "Granted, it's not ideal, but we don't have that luxury any longer. Instead, we must do what we can to achieve our ends."

Her shoulders slumped slightly, reaching up to push her hair behind her ear. "I mean, I guess you have a point..."

Again, the woman rested a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Focus on your mission and I'll attend to mine. Trust me. Please."

"I do," she replied instantly, a furrow coming to her brow. "But, who's going to look after  _you_?"

Winter's lips curled into a soft smile, looking away. "Don't worry about me. I made you a promise; I'll not be so foolish as to disregard that again."

Yang sighed, realizing she likely wouldn't get anything better than that. "Just... take care of yourself and good luck."

"To you as well."

As the Alpha moved away, she watched her go with a distant ache in her heart. Despite the assurances not to, she'd continue to worry after the woman. At least they both seemed to understand that.

"Hey." Yang turned her head as Sun stepped up beside her, his staff across his shoulders and both arms casually laid over it. "I'll keep an eye on her. Bring her back just like I did Blake, okay?"

"Yeah, alright." Her lips quirked into a small grin. "Just try not to get stabbed this time."

"I'll do my best!" He laughed, bumping her shoulder lightly with the end of his weapon before hurrying over to meet with the rest of his group. It soothed her, somewhat, to have someone keeping an eye on the headstrong Alpha... but it didn't exactly put her at ease. Probably never would.

Rolling her neck, she went over to her team and caught the look in Weiss' eyes a moment before Blake bumped the Alpha's shoulder. While Yang couldn't quite decipher the what that meant, she noted the frown on her sister's lips that discouraged them from getting distracted at present. She'd have to wait until they grouped up again before addressing it.

"Alright, we're going to make a mad dash for Emerald Forest." Jaune, Nora, and Ren pressed a bit closer, their weapons already drawn. "The relic group will move into the city first and hopefully draw the Grimm away from our path. We're giving them a twenty minute headstart. Oscar's group will remain here; it should be safe until we've linked back up." She turned and pointed towards the destroyed shadow of Beacon Tower. "Once we've pushed through the city, the relic group will head to the rendezvous point in the shadow of the Tower. That's where we'll find them- and, hopefully, Team CFVY will meet us there."

"Do you think they're still in the city?" Lilac eyes traced the skyline as the relic group began to move, Winter's voice briefly rising to rally them onto her glyphs before they moved away. At the moment, she didn't really want to confront the idea of any more dead friends. Seemed like inviting bad luck and they already had a living avatar on that front.

"Velvet wouldn't abandon it," Blake said, ears laying flat for a moment. "And Coco would be dead before she allowed herself to be driven off her own turf. Yatsu wouldn't leave people behind and Fox is tenacious to a fault." She nodded. "If they're alive, they're in the city."

"Oh, they're alive." Weiss crossed her arms over her chest. "Coco would be  _livid_  if she made it to a few days ago and died before linking up with us- mad enough to come back from the grave."

"Then we'll find them after we grab the relic." Jaune stepped forward, raising a brow towards Ruby. "Which is... I mean, what are we looking for?"

For a moment, her sister looked a touch... amused, but it died quickly. "It was one of the first things Headmaster Ozpin told us when we arrived at Beacon, that we'd be finding relics out in the Emerald Forest. One of the few times he told us the truth... we just didn't know it at the time."

Suddenly, everything clicked into place, and she understood a longtime mystery that she'd forgotten long ago.

"Wait... you mean the initiation grounds?" His expression fell slightly. "But, that's- that's out in the open, how can we be sure that Salem's goons haven't already grabbed it?"

"We can't, not really, but apparently the ruins where the initiation relics are kept was once a temple of sorts for a silver eyed warrior. Their energy still covers that area, which is why the relics are largely undisturbed between initiations. The Grimm can't distinguish between the relic and the ruins, and anyone who tries to guess is going to have a hard time figuring out which one it is." Ruby looked over at her. "But  _we_  already know."

"A pretty little pony." Yang nodded. "Alright. Let's get over there and grab it."

Back during that fateful afternoon so very long ago, she'd been drawn to the white knight piece because it felt familiar. Not in a way she could put her finger on but, now, it made sense that the energy contained within the relic match her sister's. The poetic irony didn't escape her, though. Back then, they'd all been relatively carefree kids, preparing to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Idly, she wondered if she would've stepped on the launch pad if she'd known what the future had in store.

Then she looked around at her friends, her family, and caught sight of the others moving in the distance.

Yeah, she would've done it, no matter what. To be here among them and give what she could to protect them- she wouldn't, couldn't be anywhere else.

"We'll move out soon. Everyone, be ready for what we're going to find when we move through the city." A frown touched her lips. "It's... not going to be pretty."

The solemn, unspoken understanding washed over them simultaneously and it took a bit of effort not to let it show. They'd each spent a fair amount of time hanging out in the city, running through the streets chasing leads or their own brands of amusement. Many of those establishments now lay in ruin... if not all.

The wind blew, stirring the leaves overhead and carrying the shrieks of Grimm as they discovered Winter's group and began to give chase. In the back of her mind, her thoughts strayed to what horrors might be lurking in the city, drawn out by the prospect of a fresh meal, but she pushed it to the side.

The Alpha would overcome any trial put in front of her and everyone else would make it through. She just had to keep her group safe, and they'd all be together again in no time.

* * *

Yang grunted, boosting Jaune onto a crumbling roof and jumping up to grab the ledge herself. Rather than try navigating the destroyed streets, they'd opted for running along the rooftops, using the higher vantage point to pick their way through the destroyed city. Already, they'd spotted several packs of Beowolves and some Ursas rummaging through the rubble, though the Grimm didn't seem to notice them quite yet. However, it took some concerted effort on their parts to keep the negative thoughts at bay.

"Hey, you doin' alright?" She lowered her voice as he knelt down, using his weight to help pull her up onto the roof.

"Honestly? Not really." He turned his head, eyes tracing over the destroyed tip of Beacon's tallest tower, where the frozen remains of the largest Grimm they'd thought they'd ever see cracked and crumbled with each passing day yet remained as a constant reminder of the Fall. As if the rest of the city didn't do that already. "I keep thinking about the last time I saw her, what I could've done different. In the end... trying to save the school-"

"It wasn't meaningless," Yang said, walking beside him as they brought up the rear, checking behind the group on occasion to ensure they weren't being followed. In the distance, they could hear the cries of Grimm in battle, but there were two kinds- the guttural roars of the real ones and the strange, almost hollow sounding calls that answered of Winter's summons- circling wide around their path through the city. She tried not to count how many she heard of each type. "Pyrrha took a stand and that dealt a critical blow to Cinder-"

" _Ruby_  did that."

"And she wouldn't have even gone up there if it wasn't for Pyrrha." She took a breath and let it out slowly. "I know it feels... wrong, in a way, and I wish things would've gone differently, too." For a moment, their glances both went down to her prosthetic. "Not just for that. I wish Pyrrha made it, too. But we're going to put an end to this, to make sure her death isn't in vain. Or Penny's or Oobleck's or any of the people who never stood a chance."

"I know that. I do." His jaw tightened, blinking away tears. "But she deserved to be here and see us win. Deserved it more than-"

Setting a hand on his shoulder, the Omega stopped him for a brief moment. "We can't change that and you need to find some way to come to terms with it. If you're going to stay stuck in one moment for the rest of your life, you're not really living."

For a moment, sympathy flashed in his eyes. "That's a lesson you learned the hard way, huh?"

"Yeah." She nodded, then straightened her shoulders. "C'mon, we gotta catch up. The sooner we get to the forest, the quicker this nightmare ends."

"Right. Right." A sigh slipped past his lips as he tried to pull himself together. "I don't know how you've done it, gotten this far and you just keep going. I feel like... I'm just... here."

"I've always had to- figure out a way to keep going, I mean, and pick up the pieces along the way." She shrugged. "That's just... who I am."

As Jaune nodded and hurried to catch up with the others, Yang took a moment to reflect on that. When the words left her mouth, she'd offered them as a means of explanation, a way to describe a life spent always taking on the lion's share whenever things didn't work out. Trying to raise Ruby and set a good example, provide for her teammates and family, protect everyone who needed it. Only now did she realize... that  _was_  the definition of Yang Xiao Long. What she'd taken as strength all this time was resilience, dedication, and a refusal to be brought down by the bad hands she got dealt. Strength, yeah, but not the physical sort.

As she started running to reach the others, the Omega considered, for perhaps the first time, that she hadn't lost any meaningful piece of herself during the Fall. She lost friends, she lost an arm, but the person she'd always been? No. It got buried beneath sorrow and heartache, nightmares and horror, but not shattered or destroyed.

She was still Yang Xiao Long... and she had a war to win.

* * *

Much to her surprise, they made it to Emerald Forest without being jumped by either Grimm or former White Fang members. That was where their luck ended, however.

"Duck!"

Yang hit the ground a moment before Nora went sailing through the air where her head had been, hammer cocked back and ready to come down on the head of a Deathstalker blocking their path. She immediately sprang to her feet, though, to avoid the Beowolf attempting to jump on her. She turned her attention to an Ursa, though, seeing Jaune slam into the Beo's side with his shield and sending it sprawling. They'd fought their way through every inch of the forest thus far, Grimm attracted by the ruckus inside the city catching wind of them as they moved through the trees. It took an hour just to get to the launch pads for initiation; this felt like wading through tar just to get  _that_  far.

The sun, high in the sky overhead, beat down on them as they tore their way through more and more Grimm. They did their best to conserve energy, taking the quickest and most efficient paths to defeating the threats ahead of them. Silver light had gathered around the edges of Ruby's eyes, weakening the Grimm without coming out fully; although becoming more practiced with the ancient power, it would still wipe out her strength, and they weren't even halfway done with the day.

The smell of discharged dust, gunpowder, and hot brass filled the air, sitting heavy on her tongue as she slammed her fist into the Ursa's bone plate, shattering it in a single blow. With every felled Grimm, they drew closer to their destination, but they lost a little strength, too. Fighting their way through a seemingly endless horde took its toll.

"To me!" Weiss shouted above the din, prompting everyone to jump towards the sound of her voice just a moment before a shining knight broke through a glyph, its broadsword cleaving a crescent of destruction in its wake.

"Open fire!" Ruby directed, the way cleared by the summon quickly being filled with a new wave that found all of them opening fire at the same time to create a hailstorm of bullets. "Now push!"

They surged forward, the seven of them moving as one to slam into the dazed and wounded Grimm, tearing through their ranks. They moved through the steps of the dance they'd committed to memory years ago, bouncing from one enemy to the next while trying to keep their momentum moving forward, the heat of her semblance offset by those around her. Red rose petals fluttered on the wind, cold wind blasted as summons burst into being, shadows played havoc at the edges of her vision, and when it looked like they needed a boost, Weiss activated her dust chamber and sent a bolt of lightning hurtling into Nora so the woman could smash her hammer and create a chain of electricity that strung several Grimm together.

The first time they stepped into this forest, they thought they faced a challenge; now, even as a sea of black and red and white rose up ahead of them, Yang felt like they had the situation well in hand.

"Has anyone even broken a sweat yet?" She called out, lips curled into a grin as she ducked one set of claws and caught the other against her prosthetic.

"That would require being challenged!" Weiss responded, the lilt to her voice just a  _little_  bit too sincere. "This is child's play."

"Yeah, even I'm keeping up!" Jaune chimed in, smashing his shield into the chest of a Beowolf, stunning it long enough for Blake to come around and neatly slice off it's head.

"Ya hear that, Salem!" Nora bellowed, a wide smile on her lips as she wound back her hammer. "You ain't got shit on us!"

They kept pushing, fighting through wave after wave until they finally reached their destination- or, rather, they reached a point where weaker Grimm refused to tread and most of the senior and Alpha creatures were either part of the first throng they smashed or deeper in the city. The ruins laid strewn across the grassy clearing, the pedestals bearing the relics from their initiation looking just as they did when they were fresh faced prospective students. She and Ruby approached side-by-side, both drawn to the same gilded knight chess piece.

"So, this is it?" Yang reached out and grabbed it, just as she had all those years ago.

"Yeah." She nodded, then sighed, glancing at its twin. "Ozpin keeps them together so it can be hard to tell but... it's definitely  _that_  one."

Lilac eyes traced over the relic, a frown touching her lips. "It's kinda crazy, huh? First person you make eye contact with and whoever happens to pick the matching piece. That's what's supposed to bring us together for four years... but we didn't even get that."

"We'll have  _plenty_  of time when this fiasco is resolved," Weiss said, stepping up behind them and setting one hand on her hip. "And, frankly, as terrible as some of it's been, it hasn't been  _all_  bad."

Blake joined her, setting a hand on the Omega's shoulder. "She's got a point."

"Yeah." Turning, she tucked the relic into Blake's pack. "Any of you ever wonder how things might be if it wasn't Team RWBY?"

She'd thought about it plenty of times. What if it was someone else who found Blake, or if she had a different partner, or if she was on a different team- each time, it sent a pang of something awful through her heart and gut. Even when lost to the throws of her nightmares and trudging through the marsh that took over her mind, it never occurred to her to regret her friends, her Team. Or, rather, when it  _did_ , it never carried any wistfulness.

"I shudder to think of it, honestly." The Alpha scrunched up her nose. "Do you have  _any_  idea how awful I'd be without you three to straighten me out?"

They laughed, even Team JNR joining in, but the moment of levity was short lived.

"We can reminisce about how awful Weiss was later," Ruby said, ignoring the soft and indignant huff from her partner. "Right now, we've got some old friends to find."

As the seven of them prepared to move into the city again, the thought lingered at the back of her mind. That she might be older than when she first grabbed that relic, not as brash or reckless or freely furious with the world around her, but that didn't mean she wasn't stronger than she was then. It was just a different kind of strength.

* * *

Yang growled as she landed yet another punch into the jaw of a Griffon, one of Weiss' glyphs appearing beneath her so she didn't fall all the way back down to the ground after being launched up for the attack. The Grimm they'd encountered on their way back from the Emerald Forest were relentless, creating a rolling sea of black and white between them and the sounds of battle deeper in the city. On the one hand, it made her nervous, because they'd thought the numbers would be thinned out between Winter's group and their own path of destruction, but on the other, she could hear the faint, sustained fire of Coco's minigun. It seemed like they'd gotten Team CFVY's attention.

Now, they just had to get back to the others.

"Yang!" She turned her head in time to see Blake hurling Blush at her, the ribbon tied to the end providing enough hint as to what she expected. The blonde snatched it out of the air, setting her feet and acting as a fulcrum as the Faunus pulled Wilt's trigger and used the momentum to swing up and over Yang. She landed on the head of a particularly huge Nevermore, blasting it once with the shotgun before tugging on the ribbon. She instantly let the sword go, leaving it to her partner to deal with that nuisance while turning her attention towards the rest of the flock. For every step they made towards their goal, it seemed a few more Grimm joined the horde.

"Hey! We've got company!" Jaune shouted from the top of a dilapidated building, pointing towards the sea with his sword.

Turning her head, she felt a ball of dread drop into her stomach; there, on the horizon, she could make out the silhouettes of an entire fleet of Atlesian airships, varying sizes and classes, and rapidly becoming bigger and more defined as they drew closer.

"We need to find the others!" Ruby called above the din, flipping Crescent Rose around. "Stop fighting! Just run!"

Split up, they would be quickly overwhelmed, but together, they at least had a chance. Cocking back her fist, the Omega prepared to launch forward even as words ricocheted around her skull.

_Please be okay, Winter. Please. I'll be there soon._

Yang understood that the coming battle would wear on the Alpha both physically and mentally. If she couldn't be the one to fight the Commander, she could at least watch the woman's back and ensure she didn't get distracted by the rolling emotions that had to be assaulting her, watching that fleet grow closer and knowing what it meant.

But, first, they had to reunite, and that meant crossing half a city just to reach where they  _thought_  the others were.

No time to waste.

* * *

They pushed hard to outrun the Grimm and reach the others, utilizing Weiss' glyphs as well as every advantage available to them to speed their trek along. They bounded from roof to roof, many crumbling beneath them and forcing their already harried advance to be quickened that much more. The sounds of the battle ahead of them grew louder and Yang could feel fear nipping at her heart. The unknown of what awaited them as well as the certainty of what followed, chasing their heels; both exacerbated the steadily growing unease in the pit of her stomach as the odds they faced mounted higher.

Yet, she tried to keep hold of her wits. Just like with facing the Apathy, the weight of their situation would crush her only if she allowed it, and that would only benefit the Grimm at this point. If they had any hope of surviving, they'd all need to keep the hope alive- that they  _weren't_  facing an insurmountable challenge. That they still had something worth fighting for.

And the moment she launched herself over the top of a destroyed building, landing on the rubble on the other side, she found that something.

Winter had her teeth grit in sheer determination, both blades flashing as she directed a score of Beowolves and a flock of Nevermores to tear apart the horde trying to surround them, both finding purchase in inky hides whenever a Grimm strayed too close. Her hair was mussed, dirt covering her face and uniform, but her eyes were alive with cold fire as she poured every ounce of strength she had into continuing the fight. Her summons either dealt critical blows or twisted their targets around, leaving them open to whoever happened to need a target for their attacks- most often, a sustained burst from Coco's minigun tore through the Grimm, treating the whole area like a shooting gallery while the rest of her team held the line alongside their former professors.

Everyone looked harried, tired, but invigorated by a fierce determination- the weakened Grimm could only wear them down and, with the arrival of Yang and the others bearing the fourth relic, they didn't stand much of a chance. However, this wasn't about winning or losing; it was about how much energy they'd expend trying to buy themselves time before the  _real_  opponents arrived. As long as they kept fighting, they'd make it through.

Without wasting another moment, she launched herself into the thick of things, passing familiar faces and some new ones to land beside Winter, slamming her fist into the side of a Boarbatusk's head to send its charge hurtling away from the Alpha's back. Immediately, she settled into a rhythm, using her fists to discourage anything that got close while taking pot shots at the enemies further away. Behind her, she could hear Winter's movements, subconsciously keeping track of where she moved to ensure they had each other's backs, and she scanned the battlefield frequently for the others. In the distance, she could see Weiss and Blake plying their strengths, taking some of the burden from Winter as the Alpha's glimmering Knight brandished its sword, slicing through waves of the Grimm with ease. Sun and Ruby worked in tandem, Sun's semblance providing a distraction while Ruby's speed took advantage of it. Sage, Fox, Yatsuhashi, and Scarlet had formed something of a strike team, pushing into the Grimm horde just far enough to sow confusion before withdrawing, allowing Velvet to use whatever weapon she could to slip around behind them and bring the beasts down, the flash of her camera interspersing the fight. Coco and Goodwitch provided the majority of their long distance support, a hail of bullets or whatever dust infused rubble the Alpha could find dealing a staggering amount of damage to whatever stood in the way. That left Jaune, Nora, and Ren to coordinate whoever else had joined the fight, switching between backing up the other groups and providing cover fire. About the only person not working with a partner of some sort was Port, but it seemed the man had channeled every ounce of pain he'd felt since Oobleck's death into his blunderax, more than living up to those stories he used to tell in class.

As far as battles of attrition went, they had some advantages, shouts and calls making the most of their limited resources and conserving as much energy and ammunition as they could. However, the sea of Grimm didn't seem to be thinning as much as they hoped and the airships were almost upon them.

"If they open fire, we've got no cover," she said, jumping up to smash her fist into the underside of a Nevermore's jaw. That blow changed its trajectory just enough for Winter's saber to find it, slicing the left wing off with hardly a grunt of effort.

"They won't." Winter growled. "Terry needs to secure the relics; they won't risk destroying them."

"Is that good news?"

"No; there's too much noise, they'll use it to their advantage. Remember, they excel at manipulating perception and this environment is disorienting as is."

With a nod, Yang pulled out a fresh belt and popped out the expended shells, glancing down at her prosthetic to check the dust cartridges. At Ruby's insistence, she'd filled one with that experimental dust they'd collected from the base in Atlas. "Well, let's see if we can throw them off their game first."

Flicking the wrist of her prosthetic, she cycled to the experimental dust- some combination of green, red, and yellow- and cocked back her fist, aiming for what she assumed to be the flagship of the formation- the largest, most beefed up airship in the fleet. Taking careful aim, she set her feet and threw the punch.

She didn't know what she expected when the dust ignited, shooting out from the built in port. Getting thrown back from the force didn't occur to her nor did the blast erupting into a veritable storm upon impact with the airship, high winds, tongues of fire, and arcing lightning combining into a ball of destruction that ripped through the hull. Yang felt the air get knocked from her chest when she hit something solid, watching as lights flickered along the airship as various systems struggled to rely on redundancies that failed as well before the whole structure lurched. A moment later, the storm contained within the ship broke out, spreading from ship to ship, dancing across the fleet and sowing destruction everywhere it went.

"Are you alright?" The Omega looked behind her, noting she'd collided with Winter, who had an arm firmly wrapped around her waist to keep her on her feet after being knocked back.

Yang looked down, noting she was cradling her prosthetic while processing- not pain, exactly, but something akin to it, a violent discomfort radiating from the anchor. "Y-yeah. I'm fine." The Alpha didn't look convinced but they couldn't dwell on it, their attention pulled up to the fleet as several airships began to fall out of the sky- including the flagship. "Sorry about that. But if they landed-"

"I hate to discourage you." Winter quickly cut her off, gaze focused elsewhere. "But they weren't on that ship."

Following the woman's gaze, Yang caught sight of a much smaller airship, one with a sleeker design and the letters ARRT emblazoned on the side. It danced around the damaged ships, avoiding the lingering dust reacting in the air, and bore down on them with deadly intent. "Shit."

"You still took down their greatest asset; the larger ships carry more weaponry than we could possibly dodge." The arm around her waist disappeared. "But now, we must contend with  _them_."

In the distance, she could see them- four dots falling from the ship as it passed over, becoming more distinct as they fell towards the ground. Combine that with the intact airships turning to broadside the patch of crumbling buildings they'd claimed as their battleground, and Yang had a sinking feeling in her stomach that they'd be hard pressed to win this fight.

"Then let's kick some ass," she said, pounding her knuckles together as the heat of her semblance suffused her being, invigorating her. She hadn't taken many hits since their trek began but she still had a lot of helpless rage building in the back of her mind regarding their predicament. About time she got to unload it on those who deserved it most.

"I'm with you," Winter replied, an array of glyphs appearing as their newest enemies landed.

The Commander stood tall, baton in one hand and a shield on their forearm, helmeted gaze sweeping over Vale's defenders before settling on Yang and Winter. "Surrender the relics and buy yourselves time." With a subtle flex of their hand, yellow dust activated in the baton, electricity crackling along the length. "No matter what, your days are numbered."

"You're right." Ruby shouted, pulling their attention towards her as she rested Crescent Rose on her shoulder. "And it's a countdown until Salem's gone for good."

They tilted their head. "That's not possible."

"Watch us." Making a show of flipping her weapon around, she racked back the bolt, dropped the magazine, and slapped a new one in while the bolt went forward. "From this life or the next doesn't really matter."

"Strong words. Let's see if you can match." Then, they turned their head, speaking lower- so that only the three soldiers flanking them heard. Whatever order they gave, it was carried out as the others nodded, bringing their own weapons to bear. "With your death, Silver Eyes, Remnant's last hope will be extinguished."

Yang narrowed her eyes. That sounded like both a threat and a warning; with only a silver eyed warrior capable of wielding the power of the relics against Salem, their words carried a certain amount of truth.

 _Stick to the plan_.

As much as she wanted to shoot forward and deal with the Commander herself, it fell to Nora, and she could be better used against the Grimm and the airships, buying the others time and space to focus on their more deadly adversaries. Pumping her right fist, she prepared to fire another blast of the experimental dust, ready to take out a swath of the airships as those struck by her first attack crashed into the shattered city. Despite the power behind the explosion, she'd hardly made a dent in the airships, and as the first volley fired from those still airborne, Yang quickly realized she'd have to do a lot more damage; while a wall of glyphs appeared to shield them from the blasts, the sisters wouldn't be able to maintain them through sustained barrages  _and_  keep their summons fighting.

This time, she jumped up, allowing the force of her attack to propel her backwards into a flip. Now that she understood what the momentum would do, she could use it to dodge or simply change the angle- whatever the situation called for at the time. As more air ships suffered damages, her arm crackled- the experimental dust seemed to be overloading the mechanisms. Flexing her fist, she ensured the main functionality wasn't compromised before returning her attention to the airships and Grimm.

"I can't do that again," she said, hoping someone heard her even as she refused to look around, Nora's voice nearby hinting that she was following through with the plan and facing off against the Commander. Some part of her knew she'd become distracted if she checked and they really couldn't afford it. "Someone else has to take down those airships!"

Instantly, glyphs appeared high overhead, Beowolves and other summons springing forth to either weave destruction of their own or exploit the holes she'd torn in the airship hulls. With Winter's attention focused above them, though, it fell to her to keep the Grimm at bay, smashing her fists through their skulls and feeling the satisfying crunch of them crumbling, too weakened by the relics to be more than shadows of their former power. However, they still had enough punch to be dangerous if allowed to run unchecked.

In a rare bout of breathing room, Yang took a look around. Winter and Weiss both looked exhausted, fighting to keep up with the volleys from the airships while their glyphs looked more and more fragile. Ruby was struggling, her eyes shining but not quite to the level they'd need to be in order to bring out their full power as she and Qrow traded blows with a hard pressed Rudy. Unfortunately, with Weiss occupied shielding them from the airships and Blake covering her, it fell to Jaune and Ren to deal with Semper and Forecastle, both of whom seemed to be rather frustrated by their lack of progress against their opponents. Meanwhile, Nora had her hands full dealing with the Commander, who'd abandoned trying to stun the Beta in favor of using a shotgun in conjunction with their shield to try and match the woman's sheer strength and tenacity.

But then something happened- a series of events too quick for her to process  _and_  react.

Semper managed to swing her ax and catch Ren by the jaw, sending him tumbling away and pulled Nora's attention for a split second. In that moment of distraction, the Commander's eyes began to glow as they found the opening they'd been waiting for, a crack in the woman's armor. The change was instant- Nora jumped back, dodging an invisible attack and wholly focused on the thin air in front of her rather than her opponent- and every moment just gave the Commander more time to exert their semblance. Yang turned, ready to throw a punch and at least try to break their concentration, but it seemed Sage had the same idea, launching at the Commander's back with sword at the ready.

She saw him swing his sword and how the Commander deflected it with their shield, using the butt of their shotgun to hit him in the gut, winding him for just a moment. That was all they needed, light flashing long the center of their shield a moment before they jabbed the bottom edge of it into his stomach. It had to be some sort of dust weapon because in the next second, it discharged, and Sage's eyes went wide as it lifted him off his feet.

But he didn't have a chance to defend himself, even as Yang turned her body and set her feet, hoping to draw the Commander's attention away by firing a shot. It missed, though, as they ducked beneath it and shoved the shotgun's muzzle into Sage's face and pulled the trigger twice.

"No!" The shout tore from her throat, catching the attention of others... but not before Sage stumbled back, hitting the ground and trying to crawl away. The Commander didn't let him get very far, though, once again using their shield and pinning the Omega in place with it, that terrible light appearing as it fired directly into his back. Then a second shot. Then a third. "NO!"

"Sage!" Sun caught sight of them just in time to see his teammate weakly reach out before the Commander's final shot caused him to go limp. Bright red blood began to stain the shattered concrete beneath him. "You monster!"

Using her left gauntlet, she shot forward, already seeing how Sun's grief and rage would blind him to the Commander's tactics, even as they abandoned their shotgun in favor of the baton from before. Reaching up, she hit the release on her anchor, using the momentum of her blast to add a bit of force as she outright  _hurled_  her prosthetic at the Commander's head. By some miracle, they hadn't anticipated that, and the prosthetic smashed into the side of their helmet, cracking the visor and staggering them briefly. That left them open to Sun's staff hitting them from the other side, though they recovered quickly.

Despite having Winter's warning about what that baton would do to her if it landed echoing in the back of her mind, Yang darted between it and Sun, ready to absorb the blow as best she could. Luckily, it didn't come to that as Nora's hand shot up and grabbed it, leaving the Commander's side open for Yang to take a swing before ducking beneath Sun's staff. Although normally a bit more cautious when swinging that thing around, in the moment, the monkey Faunus seemed entirely focused on causing as much damage as possible.

Nora and Yang were forced to not only try and keep the Commander from getting their bearings and landing a strike but  _also_  avoiding Sun's attacks, the latter proving more difficult than the former. He didn't have the presence of mind to work  _with_  them, and she could hardly blame him, but it made their task all the harder. By the end of the exchange, he'd kicked the Commander square in the chest, sending them flying back and rolling as their helmet fell to pieces while knicking Nora and Yang more than once with errant strikes.

"Fly, take off!" The Commander shouted, raising their shield wrist towards their mouth while the rest of their team began offering suppressing fire, forcing Yang, Nora, and Sun back- or, rather, the first two to restraining their friend to keep him from getting hit. "Bell, pick up!"

As the smaller airship from before reappeared, Yang watched as Rudy used his bow to fire arrows with thin wires attached at his teammates, each caught and attached to their belts as he turned his aim skyward, towards the ship.

"I'm not letting them get away!" Sun growled, pushing at Yang's left arm- her prosthetic lying off to the side, unreachable without letting him go.

"You'll lose that fight," she said, pouring her strength into holding him back. "You get in range of those airships and you're done for!"

Though the sisters' glyphs had shielded them from the majority of the blasts, more and more were getting through, turning the rubble around them to dust. Aside from that, they still had a ton of Grimm surrounding them, though the beasts seemed to be retreating in tandem with the Commander, the airships above appearing to turn as well while continuing to fire. As much as she wanted to avenge Sage as well, she could tell they were being baited; from all Winter had said, the Commander wouldn't sacrifice an advantage until they fully believed they could capitalize on it and gain something even greater in the process.

"Yang! I'm losing my grip!" Nora groaned, throwing down her hammer and using both arms as he continued struggling. In the distance, she could hear Neptune and Scarlet shouting, the sounds of the former's railgun taking pot shots that hit around the Commander or against their shield.

Eventually, Sun gave up struggling against them, hands coming together as he created his clones, which rushed forward and tried to land a few more blows against his opponent even as the airship began hovering overhead, the lines drawing taut as they made their retreat. With hardly any effort, the Commander swung their shield, dispersing one of the clones while hitting the other with the baton, pulling something from their belt and flinging it at the three.

Glancing down, lilac eyes landed on the thin cylinder at their feet, recognizing it as a grenade almost a moment too late. Seeing as Sun was still resisting, it would take too long to toss both him  _and_  Nora clear, so she released him and dove onto it, covering the explosive with her body a moment just before it detonated.

It surprised her more than anything. Despite all the aura she'd poured into the fight thus far, she still had a decent amount, enough that it didn't shatter immediately at the explosion. Hurt like hell, though, winded her as the force of it sent her rolling, and she clutched at her chest while wincing. A bruise, maybe, but no blood. As the shock of it slowly passed, she blinked and looked around- first at how everyone seemed to be coming closer and then at  _why_. With the Commander and their team now safely airlifted away, the retreating airships had doubled their rate of fire, turning the battleground into a light show as glyphs struggled to keep them protected. A few broke, sending her friends scrambling for cover.

Then, she felt it- the air charging with something... indescribable. Ancient. The Omega looked around and caught sight of her sister running towards the wall of glyphs, eyes alight with silver as she swung Crescent Rose in wide arcs. Somehow- she didn't know  _how_ \- those swings became... something else, the silver of her eyes pouring out and coating her weapon before being flung out, waves of energy sent chasing after the retreating airships. Those struck by the... whatever it was Ruby sent after them- even from distance Yang could see how the metal was cleaved straight through, causing explosions as critical systems were destroyed.

For the second time in as many years, Vale's sky became filled with airships falling, crashing into the city below- just a fraction of that that had filled the air but all the ones within firing range.

Not a moment too soon, either. The glyphs all disappeared, Blake calling out as Weiss fell to her knees, too weak to remain standing. Coco shouted orders- some she sent to form a perimeter to keep the Grimm at bay while others were to pull back those of their number too far out. Including Ruby who, after a few more swings, began to falter, stumbling while lifting her scythe as it transformed into a sniper and taking what shots she could, though she couldn't be certain if any landed. The light in her eyes faded and it wouldn't be long until she fell unconscious, struggling to keep herself from succumbing to the exhaustion that followed using her new, ill understood powers.

Yang pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the weakness she could feel trying to take her legs from under her. Her hand shook- and it felt like both of them did, despite some part of her  _knowing_  that couldn't be possible- and she tried to steady it enough to help drive back the few Grimm that seemed eager to test their defenses, but a hand caught her wrist.

"Don't waste your strength." Velvet nodded towards the others enforcing their perimeter. "They can handle this. The fight's over."

"No... it's just on break." Shaking her head, she tried to focus as she looked around, seeing Sun, Scarlet, and Neptune gathered around Sage's body. Guilt gnawed at her heart- she should've been quicker, recognized the danger sooner, she should've paid more attention- but found herself distracted as the Faunus held up her prosthetic.

"In that case, rest now so we can fight later. We've still got a ways to go before we're even remotely safe." Tawny eyes swept over the battlefield, landing on a group kneeling down near where the Commander had stood. "Bring her over here."

Yang quirked a brow, further surprised when she caught sight of Winter lying prone among them. She quickly reattached her arm. "What happened to her? I- she was behind me-"

"After you jumped on that grenade, she moved to cover you." Velvet shrugged, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and trying to guide her away. "Caught that baton across the jaw for her trouble but she should be fine."

For a moment, her mind clouded over, the toll of the day making it difficult to discern anything other than vague ideas- and she gave voice to those she could articulate, stopping to do so. "You're sure? What about Ruby? Weiss, Blake?"

"Not to be indelicate, but we only lost one today. That's a good day in our books." A frown tugged at her lips as she tried to urge the Omega onward. "Vale's been bad since the Fall, Yang. We'll need to get everyone rested up. That means getting back to base, sooner rather than later, so save your questions for now, okay?"

Someone- a boar Faunus, she'd wager- walked up beside them, acting as a crutch for Winter as her head lolled, clearly disoriented but still conscious. "We need to get moving, Boss."

"I know." Velvet looked around, then muttered a curse. "One of those ships isn't retreating."

"I noticed," Coco said, and Yang couldn't be sure how long she'd been standing there even as she turned towards Yatsuhashi, who cradled an unconscious Ruby in his arms. "Lead the others back to base. I'll take a group to try and bring it down."

"Wait." Winter weakly raised her head, her eyes dull and unfocused. "That one's... not like the others."

"I'm gonna need something more specific than that if you're expecting me to let it keep flying." The Alpha jerked her chin. "It still looks functional, and that's bad news for us no matter how you slice it."

"The rest of the fleet... was piloted by Knights... pre-programmed formations, tactics, firing algorithms... that one has... someone at the controls..." She closed her eyes tight, as if struggling to speak clearly, her words slurred from either exhaustion or the Commander's parting blow. "A defector... a rogue... I don't know, but someone... who didn't fire..."

"Fine. We won't blast it out of the sky... yet." Coco looked around before her gaze landed on Goodwitch. "You still good to fight?"

"Quite. I'll go with you to investigate."

"Works for me. The rest of you, get back to base. See if we have any supplies to spare." A glance towards the crashing airships. "And someone mark those positions; we might be able to find something useful among the wreckage."

"You heard the woman," Velvet said, once again urging her forward. "We're done here."

Ruby and Winter were accounted for and she could see Blake shuffling forward, carrying Weiss in her arms- that last array to defend them must've been provided solely by the younger Alpha, seeing as her sister appeared to be incapacitated. Jaune, Ren, and Nora all looked weary but uninjured- or at least nothing major as she caught sight of the thin trail of blood at Ren's temple. The Professors and Qrow joined Coco, each showing glimmers of their exhaustion but shoving it aside for the moment, and the remainder of Team SSSN carried their fallen teammate with them, each showing signs of just barely able to do so yet soldiering on anyway.

At this point, Yang couldn't object; remaining out in the open would help no one.

"There's more of us outside the city," she said, pointing the way they'd come.

"I can't believe Headmaster Ozpin stayed out of the fight. Ruby mentioned he was with you."

"Yeah, something like that... it'll make more sense once we're all together." She didn't possess the tact or the patience to explain the whole Oscar thing at present. Hopefully, either Team SNOW would bite the bullet for her or Velvet would wait until they were a bit more clearheaded to ask any more questions.

As the group of them shuffled away, further into the destroyed city, Yang felt her heart sink. They'd made a plan. They'd stuck to it as best they could... and they'd still lost Sage.

Her gaze shifted- to her sister, her friends, her...

How many more would they lose?


End file.
